The big boys of the UFC take center stage Saturday in Paris, France at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivac. It’s a homecoming for Frenchman Cyril Gane, the No. 2 heavyweight contender who hit the board as a -163 favorite on the UFC betting line for his main event bout with Serghei Spivac. Gane enters the Octagon for the first time since dropping his second bid to claim the undisputed heavyweight title. Gane was stopped just over two minutes into his fight with champ Jon Jones in March.

With three straight stoppage wins and six victories in his last seven fights, Spivac has ascended to No. 7 in the rankings. There is some question regarding the level of Spivac’s competition, though, with his only loss since mid-2020 to the No. 4 ranked contender Tom Aspinall. With his game at another level, Spivac is a strong underdog bet at +143 at UFC betting sites.

Not wasting an opportunity to promote the sport in the French capital, several homegrown fighters will be competing on Saturday. Making his UFC debut, Morgan Charriere ( -330 ) is a big favorite against Manolo Zecchini in a bout elevated to the main card. Benoit Saint-Denis is also favored in his lightweight matchup with Thiago Moises. And in the co-main event No. 3 Frenchwoman Manon Fiorot welcomes two-time strawweight champ Rose Namajunas to the flyweight ranks.

The action takes place on Saturday, September 2 from Accor Arena in Paris with the main card scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+. You can bet on UFC online at BetRivers sportsbook with odds for every fight.

UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivac Main Card Odds

Serghei Spivac +143 vs. Ciryl Gane -163

Rose Namajunas +146 vs. Manon Fiorot -171

Thiago Moises +135 vs. Benoit Saint-Denis -155

Bogdan Guskov +155 vs. Volkan Oezdemir -180

Manolo Zecchini +270 vs. Morgan Charriere -330

After dropping two of his last three fights, Gane ( 11-2, 5 KOs, 3 SUBs ) looks to get back in line for another go at Jones for the heavyweight strap. Winning the interim belt with a third-round TKO of Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 kept Gane unbeaten and earned him a shot at the undisputed title with a matchup against Francis Ngannou. Gane was ahead on every scorecard after two rounds but eventually suffered his first pro setback when Ngannou switched to wrestling. Gane failed to adjust and dropped a unanimous decision.

Gane rebounded from his first loss pummeling Tai Tuivasa with a third-round KO almost exactly one year to the day of Saturday’s confrontation. And ironically that fight took place in the same Paris venue. Earning another shot at the title with his win, Gane squared off against Jones at UFC 285 and it didn’t go well. Just over two minutes into the opening round Jones submitted Gane with a guillotine choke.

Spivac ( 16-3, 7 KOs, 7 SUBs ) started his UFC career with two losses in his first three fights. However, he’s been really good since then winning six of his last seven fights falling only to highly-ranked contender Tom Aspinall two years ago. His list of victims isn’t exactly a who’s who of UFC heavyweights with Carlos Felipe, Jared Vanderaa, Aleksei Oleinik, Greg Hardy, Augusto Sakai and most recently Derrick Lewis succumbing to Spivac’s unrelenting style.

Over his last seven fights and in particular his last three, Spivac has looked more confident using his strong wrestling technique to subdue opponents. His 5.05 takedown average and 65 percent takedown accuracy are significantly higher than that of Gane. The gameplan should be fairly simple: get inside and get Gane on the mat.

That’s easier said than done, though, and after being exposed for his lack of takedown defense in his two losses, Gane is going to make sure that doesn’t happen again. The strength of Gane is his striking with 5.08 significant strikes landed per minute. The fighter that best executes his game plan will win this bout. I think Gane learned a lesson when he was submitted by Jones last time out. He’ll keep his distance so he doesn’t get taken to the mat and use his three inch reach advantage to open Spivac for bigger strikes.

UFC Prediction: Ciryl Gane -163 / (T)KO

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