Ciryl Gane races back into the UFC title fray, defeats Serghei Spivac with record strikes

In addition to signalling a victory, Ciryl Gane's triumphant return to the cage at the Accor Arena in Paris also heralded a stunning comeback in his MMA career. Gane defeated Serghei Spivac via second-round TKO in the main event of UFC Paris Fight Night on Saturday thanks to strong punching, improved grappling, and stronger takedown defence. 

3 things you need to know

• Ciryl Gane defeated Serghei Spivac via TKO
• Gane made a comeback after UFC 285
• Gane was defated by Jon Jones at UFC 285

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Ciryl Gane defeats Serghei Spivac

'Bon Gamin' realised he had to make a lot of progress if he wanted to compete for the heavyweight title again after suffering a devastating first-round submission loss to Jon Jones at UFC 285 in March. With 109 strikes landed to Serghei Spivac's 11, Ciryl Gane defeated Spivac with a commanding performance, breaking the previous record for the second-largest strike differential in UFC heavyweight history.

By successfully resisting Spivac's efforts to take him down and controlling the stand-up exchanges with deft strikes and quick movements in the opening round, Gane demonstrated his takedown defence.

As the bout entered the second round, Ciryl Gane stepped up his attack since he could tell that Spivac was eager to submit him. The Frenchman pounded Spivac's torso with knees and body punches, seriously hurting him. After spotting Spivac's weakness, Gane threw a fierce barrage of punches and knees that eventually ended the bout at 3:44. The 28-year-old Moldovan was still standing but was unable to defend himself, which brought the battle to a stop.

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UFC Fight Night other results

• Manon Fiorot def. Rose Namajunas via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Benoit Saint Denis def. Thiago Moises via TKO (punches) at 4:44 of Round 2 | Pros react
• Volkan Oezdemir def. Bogdan Guskov via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:46 of Round 1
• William Gomis def. Yanis Ghemmouri via TKO (body kick) at 2:20 of Round 3
• Morgan Charriere def. Manolo Zecchini via knockout (body kicks) at 3:51 of Round 1

Preliminary Card 

• Taylor Lapilus def. Caolan Loughran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ange Loosa def. Rhys McKee via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Nora Cornolle def. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Farid Basharat def. Kleydson Rodrigues via submission (arm triangle choke) at 4:15 of Round 1
• Jacqueline Cavalcanti def. Zarah Fairn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27