Ciryl Gane outpoints Rozenstruik in lacklustre main event

UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane.

Ciryl Gane won a five-round unanimous decision over Jairzinho Rozenstruik at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas over the weekend.

The undefeated Frenchman improved to 8-0 in professional mixed martial arts but failed to wow fans with a big finish like what we saw last weekend when Derrick Lewis starched fellow heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes with an epic uppercut in their main event.

It was a clinical performance from Gane, whose five consecutive UFC wins now marks the longest active streak in the heavyweight division. The 30-year-old former Muay Thai champion swept the scorecards, landing 128 of 202 strikes attempted and securing two takedowns in the 25-minute main event, however neither fighter came close to finishing the match at any point and Gane’s performance underwhelmed UFC president Dana White.

“Everybody’s talking about Ciryl being this big contender, but look at what Francis Ngannou did to Jairzinho,” White said via Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports. “This was his coming out party and his chance to show the world who he is. He won, but let’s leave it at that. He won.”

Rozenstruik, known for his tremendous punching power, fought tentatively and seemed to have a difficult time adjusting to Gane’s size, reach and speed advantage.

“I think it’s my worst performance ever,” Rozenstruik said in a video posted to social media following the event.

Rozenstruik was ranked as the No. 4 contender in the division heading into the fight so you can expect Gane to move up from his No. 7 spot.

Eight of the nine fights on the card went the distance. Below are the complete results.

MAIN CARD
-- Ciryl Gane def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik by unanimous decision
-- Magomed Ankalaev def. Nikita Krylov by unanimous decision
-- Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Montana De La Rosa ends in majority draw
-- Pedro Munhoz def. Jimmie Rivera by unanimous decision
-- Alex Caceres def. Kevin Croom by unanimous decision

PRELIMINARY CARD
-- Thiago Moises def. Alexander Hernandez by unanimous decision
-- Alexis Davis def. Sabina Mazo by unanimous decision
-- Ronnie Lawrence def. Vince Cachero by technical knockout
-- Dustin Jacoby def. Maxim Grishin by unanimous decision

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