UFC commentator Joe Rogan admitted that the way Frenchman Ciryl Gane fought against American Derrick Lewis made him change his mind about the confrontation between Ciryl Gane and his compatriot UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Speaking in a recent episode of his podcast, Joe said that he has watch the fight between Ciryl and Derrick three times already, and each time he is more impressed. He believes that the way the new interim champ moves will change the way heavyweights strike forever.
“Ciryl Gane beat the s**t out of Derrick Lewis. It was a shut out. He shut him out. Ciryl Gane, who’s 6-foot-5, 247lb, moves like a 170-pounder. It’s crazy,” Joe Rogan said.
“He’s bouncing like Wonderboy Stephen Thompson. Bouncing the entire fight, bouncing, throwing feints, like completely changed the standard of heavyweight striking. I’m not exaggerating. There is no question he is the best moving heavyweight I’ve ever seen.”
Joe Rogan says that clearly Francis is going to have that one-punch knockout power that he brings to every fight. However Rogan is now questioning whether or not Ngannou will be able to effectively land on Ciryl, given how smooth Gane can move.
“The Lewis fight changed my opinion on how a fight with Gane and Francis Ngannou would go down. At first my thought was that Francis Ngannou has the nuclear option with everybody. He has such f—king power,” Joe Rogan said.
“Francis has excellent technique, Francis has ridiculous power, but he doesn’t have the movement that Gane has. The question is can Francis deal with the movement, and maybe threaten him in a way that Derrick Lewis didn’t figure out how to, and that’s what makes the fight so interesting. But the way that guy moves is something special man.
“I can’t think of a single heavyweight that I’ve ever seen move like that,” Rogan continued. “And there’s no flaws in his clinch game. He understands how to avoid the takedown, he understands pummeling, he understands distance and where he’s safe, where he’s not safe, and what to look for when he’s pulling out of the clinch, to not get hit. It’s really amazing man.”