UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane has refuted claims that he wasn’t pleased with the pay he received at UFC 265.
At the August 7 pay-per-view, Gane joined the exclusive club of fighters that have achieved UFC title glory as an undefeated fighter. Against Derrick Lewis inside Houston’s Toyota Center, “Bon Gamin” delivered a striking masterclass that saw him land 112 shots while eating just 16 from Lewis.
After stopping “The Black Beast” in the third round, Gane extended his perfect promotional record to 7-0, and in doing so, emerged victorious in his third straight main event win of 2021.
But despite leaving the Octagon with the gold around his waist and an inevitable booking against the champion Francis Ngannou, many suggested the Frenchman was unhappy with his fight purse after he disclosed the number, which totaled $350,000 ($188,000 after taxes), to French outlet L’Equipe.
During an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, Gane addressed the publications that had added his UFC 265 purse to the list of evidence for the promotion’s poor fighter pay structure, stating he doesn’t have an issue with the amount he received for his PPV main event victory.
“Yes, I saw (in) the media, a lot of people put this on the headline because people think I’m not happy about that. No, I’m OK with that. I’m OK with that. We have a tax like every job, and you have a team. The team, they spend a lot of time with you. My coach (didn’t see) his daughter for one month for me…because he was really busy. And so that’s normal to bring that for my team.”
Gane went on to remind those discussing his fighter pay that he’s only been in the UFC since 2019, and only made his professional MMA debut a year prior.
“So everything is correct. And after that, yes, the (conversion from dollars to euro reduces the pay further). But again, that’s OK. And I just started three years ago, so this is the beginning of a career, so (I’m) not really far.”
Nevertheless, Gane is likely to leave his next fight with a significantly larger purse should he meet Ngannou for a title unification bout.
Despite Stipe Miocic’s calls for a trilogy fight with “The Predator,” and the highly anticipated introduction of Jon Jones to the heavyweight picture in 2022, a clash with “Bon Gamin” is likely the next step for the Cameroonian following the Frenchman’s interim title crowning.
Who do you think will win the likely heavyweight title unification fight? Francis Ngannou or Ciryl Gane?
