Ciryl Gane has a tall test ahead of him, so what better sparring partner to help him prepare than NBA big man Rudy Gobert?
At UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi, Gane faces Alexander Volkov in a heavyweight bout that serves as a rematch of their June 2021 Fight Night encounter that Gane won via unanimous decision.
It appears that Gane is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that he beats Volkov again as his team at MMA Factory in Paris recently released footage of Gane training with Gobert, a key member of the Minnesota Timberwolves who is fresh off of winning his fourth NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. At 7-foot-1, Gobert towers over the 6-foot-7 Volkov, one of the tallest fighters in the UFC.
Watch the footage below (courtesy of Championship Rounds).
Ciryl Gane sparring with Rudy Gobert
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 9, 2024
@mmafactory_fr #UFC #MMA #NBA pic.twitter.com/t3gASzuQB9
In the clip, Gane can be seen navigating Gobert’s condor-like wingspan, while cautiously slipping in punches, including one particularly accurate shot that brings a comical pause to the action.
Gane has seen mixed results since his first win over Volkov. He won an interim heavyweight title with a knockout of Derrick Lewis, but failed to unify the belts when he faced champion Francis Ngannou at UFC 270. He rebounded with a win over Tai Tuivasa, then fell short of the undisputed title again when he was quickly submitted by Jon Jones.
In his most recent outing, Gane scored a second-round knockout of Serghei Spivac this past September.
See the MMA Factory’s post below, which was also shared by Gobert.
