"Why should it be up to the guy who's clearly winning?" - Ciryl Gane's former opponent defends his performance at UFC Vegas 20

With a unanimous decision victory at UFC Vegas 20, Ciryl Gane added another win to his undefeated record. However, the athlete has drawn criticism for putting up a slow-paced five-rounder for the audience in the headliner event.

Ciryl Gane took a strategic approach and pieced up his opponent, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, from outside his range. The French MMA fighter also grappled with Rozenstruik to evade the Surinamese's patented knockout power.

This cautious style of eluding a full-blown head-to-head clash is much like the Francis Ngannou vs Derrick Lewis fight (UFC 226), which is widely regarded as one of the most lackluster fights in UFC heavyweight history.

One of Ciryl Gane's previous opponents, Tanner Boser, has come out in defense of the French fighter. Boser, who fought Gane at UFC FN: 165, took to Twitter to silence Gane's critics. According to Boser, 'Bon Gamin' wisely chose not to take risks in a fight that was clearly going to get ruled in his favor.

Why should it be up to the guy that’s clearly winning to try something risky..? Will the fans pay him his win bonus if he does something reckless and loses because of it? No. They’ll probably just tweet about him “getting cocky” and DM him a Venmo request for a failed $20 bet. https://t.co/vhrTRDkIqP

— Tanner Boser (@BulldozerBoser) February 28, 2021

After the show wrapped up, ESPN journalist Ariel Hewani alluded to last week's knockout victory of Derrick Lewis over Curtis Blaydes. Helwani believes that the devastating knockout that Blaydes suffered might be the reason why the two headliners tonight appeared reluctant to go all out.

Ciryl Gane claims is ready for the title shot

Ciryl Gane is 5-0 in the UFC. The promising prospect was merely 3-0 before signing with the promotion. Despite the lack of experience, Gane believes he is ready to be mentioned in the title conversation. 'Bon Gamin' is ready to take on any challenge that presents itself in the division. Speaking with Laura Sanko on ESPN MMA, Ciryl Gane said:

"I proved it. This guy [Jairzinho Rozenstruik] has a lot of experience, more than me. I proved it that I can manage anyone. So if you want to put me on the line... me and my team are ready"

Undefeated @ciryl_gane says he's ready to be in the heavyweight title picture after #UFCVegas20 pic.twitter.com/tVkdGuXKZk

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 28, 2021

With a mature approach at UFC Vegas 20, it looks like Ciryl Gane is certainly improving each day. At UFC 260, the heavyweight belt is on the line between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. After Jon Jones gets his shot at the winner of that contest, Ciryl Gane may be next in line.