UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes has doubts about Ciryl Gane’s ability to improve his grappling skills. Despite being a highly impressive fighter in the heavyweight division, Gane has not been able to win the undisputed belt in two attempts.
Although he is known for his phenomenal striking abilities, his grappling skills have been lacking. This was evident in his losses against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones, the latter in which he was submitted in just two minutes. Gane’s recent social media posts indicate that he is working on improving his grappling skills, but Blaydes believes that Gane does not have enough time to do so.
“I think he’s like a lot of guys. He got away without having to wrestle. Just like Francis when he fought Stipe (Miocic). He got away with not having to learn how to wrestle,” Blaydes said. “There’s a lot of guys with holes in their games because they only focus on one aspect of MMA.”
“I know a lot of people are expecting him just to plug it. (But) it takes years to learn how to grapple. He’s not gonna get it. He’s not gonna get it. I don’t expect him to get it,” Blaydes added.
Although Blaydes is a top-level competitor in grappling, the responsibility falls on Ciryl Gane to demonstrate that he can overcome his deficiencies in this area. While Blaydes may be skeptical, it is up to Gane to show that he can improve and succeed.