Ciryl Gane, the face of French MMA
Since his defeat against Francis Ngannou on January 23, the "Bon Gamin" of La Roche-sur-Yon has attracted the sympathy and support of the French public.
In order to get back into the title race, Ciryl Gane will return to the UFC cage to challenge Australian Tai Tuivasa in the main fight of the card scheduled for Bercy.
He has a date with history: to be the first French MMA practitioner to win a fight with the mythical American organization in France.
“When I arrive in the cage, I know very well that all scenarios are possible. But me, considering losing or saying that it's not very serious if I lose, no, that's very serious. I can't think like that, it's impossible
,” he told us in an interview at the end of June.
Read alsoCiryl Gane: "We have a real audience and a real expectation around MMA in France"
The other Tricolores on the program
“Bon Gamin” will not be the only French fighter on the UFC Paris schedule.
Young
William Gomis
(25), a member of the MMA Factory with Gane, will play his first UFC fight this Saturday, against Dutchman Jarno Errens (13-3-1) on the main card.
Despite a growing status in the league,
Nassourdine Imavov
(27) is on the preliminary card for his duel against American Joaquin Buckley (15-4).
Fares Ziam
(25) faces the Polish Michal Figlak (8-0), undefeated in his MMA career but inexperienced in the UFC.
The last French fighter is none other than
Benoît Saint-Denis
(26) who challenges the Brazilian Gabriel Miranda on Saturday evening.
The former soldier of the French special forces hopes to continue after his victory against the German Niklas Stolze last June, the first success in the career of the French "God of War".
Read alsoBenoît Saint-Denis, present at UFC Paris: "I want to make the French public proud and happy"
The first UFC event organized in France
After many years of fighting - no pun intended - for its legalization, French MMA will celebrate a significant revolution in its development on Saturday evening: the
Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC), the queen organization of mixed martial arts, poses its luggage in France for the first time in its history.
Paris thus becomes one of the international members (non-American/Canadian) of the UFC alongside Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, London, Sydney, Mexico City, Tokyo, Berlin, Beijing, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Prague, Zagreb , Stockholm or even Copenhagen.
Cities that have already hosted this type of event.
“
The debut of the UFC in France marks the culmination of a decade of efforts to obtain the official recognition of MMA by the authorities.
In the coming months, the UFC will continue to work closely with the French Boxing Federation and the French Mixed Martial Arts Federation to promote the positive impact of MMA as a sport
. American organization in its press release published on May 19, announcing the Parisian evening.
Read alsoMMA: Ares, the young French league that is rising (very) quickly
A ticket office sold out in a few minutes
A few days before the event, the UFC can already say enough about the success of its Parisian getaway.
While tickets went on sale on June 24 at 10 a.m., the AccorArena was filled in less than ten minutes.
With a queue exceeding
"100,000 requests"
according to the organization, it was almost impossible to afford the Grail on the day.
The presales system put in place by the organization was enough to fill Bercy in its entirety in a few minutes, despite exorbitant prices, ranging from 83 to more than 1,500 euros for a place at the foot of the cage.
The average price of a ticket is around 150 euros.