Ciryl Gane has denied he is suffering from a hand injury heading into his fight against Jon Jones.
Gane, 32, looks to spoil the fighting return of Jones this Saturday in Las Vegas when the pair meet for the UFC heavyweight title in Las Vegas. Gane will look to win the heavyweight belt on his second attempt having previously missed out on the chance to become champion when he was beaten by former training partner Ngannou last January.
'Bon Gamin' picked up an emphatic knockout win against Tai Tuivasa last September at the first UFC event hosted in France, but sustained a broken hand in the fight and underwent surgery later that year. Rumours of Gane breaking his hand again circulated online when a recent picture of the heavyweight showed swelling around his fast, but Gane downplayed the rumours as false.
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"She is healthy, really healthy," Gane said of his hand. "I've got no problem, any sensation. Just after the injury, since the injury to today, nothing. Everything is perfect." Gane thought that he needed to delay his fight against Jones by a month because of his previous injury, but agreed that March would be a suitable date when he was training with no pain in his hand."
"My hand is fixed, nothing [wrong]," Gane told James Lynch. "Im ok, we talked with Hunter and during the discussion we knew already with my coach Fernand Lopez that it wasn't possible to change the date. The date was March and during this conversation we understood. We thought for me to have one more month would have been a good idea, but we started with a big jump in the gym and that's why I'm so happy because I've got no injury, I've got nothing wrong and we've pushed my body really hard."
Jones looks to become one of the few two-weight champions in UFC history with a win against Gane, who can become France's first ever undisputed UFC champion if he claims the heavyweight title. Jones has faced several fellow UFC legends during his accomplished career and was conflicted when addressing if Gane is his toughest opponent to date.
"It's hard to say whether this fight will be my toughest challenge or not," Jones said. "I am ready to dominate but if I don't dominate and the fight goes five rounds then I'm ready for a dogfight. To bleed, sweat and leave my heart out there. I feel like I fight for something a little bit different. I have a lion in me, a vicious warrior and I'm ready for however it goes."
