Henry Cejudo was impressed with Ciryl Gane’s finish of Tai Tuivasa at UFC Fight Night 209.
Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was knocked down by Tuivasa, but managed to weather the storm and scored a knockout win over the power puncher this past Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris.
The former interim heavyweight champion kept digging into Tuivasa’s body before moving up top to rain down the finishing blows. Cejudo lauded Gane for his footwork and fight IQ and thinks he’d give Jon Jones more trouble than heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou, who defeated Gane in his most recent outing by unanimous decision.
“His angles were on point. His distance was on point. His investment in the body to break somebody down to eventually get the knockout was on point,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “This dude is a threat for everybody. I immediately texted Jon Jones: ‘Hey man, watch out for this dude.’ You have to really plan for this dude.
“I almost feel after looking at that last fight like he is a bigger threat than Francis Ngannou for a guy like Jon Jones.”
In Arizona, Cejudo has helped former light heavyweight king Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) gear up for his eventual heavyweight debut. Despite his high praise for Gane, Cejudo still sees Jones as the No. 1 puzzle to solve.
“Ciryl Gane is the real deal,” Cejudo said. “Somebody that can chop (Tuivasa) down like that and eventually finish him, that’s the type of stuff that I like to see – investment in the body, investment in legs, to eventually finish his opponent. Beautiful work.
“The heavyweight division has never been hotter before, especially now that Jon Jones is in there. So it’s an exciting time. But I still believe that Jon Jones is the king of kings, and for that reason, all you heavyweights, you’ve got to study Jon Jones.”
