Ciryl Gane has revealed he earned close to a career-high €3million purse for his recent UFC win over Tai Tuivasa.
The French star headlined the promotion's inaugural event in Paris after MMA was legalised in France, where he took on the challenge of fellow contender Tuivasa. Gane put on a sensational display in a thrilling encounter where he recovered from a knockdown to finish his opponent on the ground after two thundering right hands sent his opponent sprawling to the canvas.
Gane had previously earned a guaranteed purse of $500,000 when he came up short in a title challenge against Francis Ngannou back in February. However the Frenchman has now revealed he earned a lucrative payday for the bout, which saw him fight on home soil for the first time.
“You know that I don’t know how much I earn for the fight," he responded when asked how much he earned for his recent win over Tuivasa. "I don't know the exact number. If you ask me, I pretty much know. Since I'm not champion, I'm downgrading a bit. It's between two and three million I think."
Gane went on to salute his opponent's role in the encounter and stated he is yet to feel power as hard during his career. “The feeling was just, because I didn’t see anything, talking about his punch, that’s why I fell down, and I think the ground woke me up,” Gane told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour .
“When my ass touched the ground I said, ‘Oh, what happening?’ He’s really dangerous. You see sometimes you have some guys, you can’t explain, but he has something in his hands, just like that. When the guy touches you, you go down. That’s it. Incredible.”
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There will now be a number of options for Gane following his display at UFC Paris including a lucrative bout against Jon Jones which would be contested for the UFC interim heavyweight title. 'Bones' was expected to make an immediate challenge against Ngannou, but the Cameroon star remains out injured and is also involved in a contract row with the UFC.
Gane has admitted he would like to explore the lucrative option against Jones but is unwilling to step in the octagon with previous challenger Curtis Blaydes. “To have Jon Jones in this division is going to put some more light, and the division is going to shine a little bit more and more,” Gane said on the UFC post-fight show. “That’s why I’m so happy to have this guy in this division.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen exactly. People talk about Stipe [Miocic] against Jones, but I’m here. I’m here. I don’t have a good answer – maybe Jon Jones for the hype, for the money.”
