"Ngannou never touched me" - Ciryl Gane considers Tai Tuivasa to be the hardest hitter he has ever faced

Ciryl Gane considers Tai Tuivasa to be the hardest hitter he’s faced. Intriguingly, Gane is a former sparring partner and opponent of reigning undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who holds the distinction of being the hardest recorded puncher in the world.

Gane faced Tuivasa in a back-and-forth war that headlined the UFC Paris event. 'Bon Gamin' was knocked down and close to being finished by ‘Bam Bam’ in round two. Nevertheless, the Frenchman survived and out-struck Tuivasa en route to a third-round KO win.

During the UFC Paris post-fight press conference, Ciryl Gane alluded to the fact that Tai Tuivasa was the first fighter to knock him down. He emphasized that Tuivasa’s power wasn’t comparable to Ngannou’s, as the latter didn’t hit him clean in their fight. In response to being asked if 'Bam Bam' was the heaviest puncher he’s faced, 'Bon Gamin' stated:

“Yeah, yeah, one hundred percent... Ngannou never touched me during the fight, so it is not possible to compare. But today, Tai Tuivasa touched me. Francis Ngannou can touch very well also. This is not question. But today, he [Tuivasa] is the first guy to put me on my a**.”

Watch Gane discuss the topic at 11:54 in the video below:

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When Francis Ngannou handed Ciryl Gane his first MMA defeat

At UFC 270 in January, then-interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane faced reigning UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou to determine the undisputed king of the division.

'Bon Gamin' started strong by outpointing Ngannou on the feet. The consensus was that he’d likely be awarded the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.

However, ‘The Predator’ rallied and out-grappled Ciryl Gane to win rounds three, four, and five. It was later revealed that judges Ron McCarthy and Derek Cleary scored rounds one and two as 10-9 rounds for Gane. Furthermore, they scored rounds three to five as 10-9 rounds for Ngannou. McCarthy and Cleary thereby scored the fight 48-47 in favor of Ngannou.

Alternatively, judge Sal D’Amato scored round two as a 10-9 round for Gane. D’Amato scored rounds one, three, four, and five as 10-9 in favor of Ngannou – giving ‘The Predator’ a score of 49-46 against Gane. The verdict was a unanimous decision win (48-47, 48-47, and 49-46) for Ngannou, making him the first fighter to defeat Gane in the sport of MMA.

Francis Ngannou is currently recovering from a knee injury and is in a contract dispute with the UFC. Regardless, it’s believed that he’s likely to return to the octagon in early 2023 and could possibly defend his title against Ciryl Gane in a rematch.