Is Ciryl Gane a dirty fighter? Analyzing 'Bon Gamin's' controversial habits ahead of UFC 334

Ciryl Gane has been free of controversy for most of his UFC career. He's respectful, represents himself well, and doesn't trash talk his opponents. Unfortunately for him, he's recently drawn attention for the fouls he commits in his fights. It's almost comical how often he fouls his opponents, and now, because of the fouls he committed against both Tom Aspinall and Alex Pereira, many wonder if 'Bon Gamin' is as good a guy as his nickname implies.

So, is Gane a dirty fighter? The short answer is yes, he is, but just how dirty is he? Well, enough to commit fouls in nearly all of his fights and remain unapologetic for doing so.

If you're not cheating, you're not trying: A Ciryl Gane story

In Ciryl Gane's sophomore UFC fight, he faced Don'Tale Mase at UFC Fight Night 162. It's largely remembered for Gane's stellar performance, which saw him submit Mase in round three. But early in round one, he tried to rake his fingers over Mase's eyes, before kicking him in the groin in round two, then trying to poke him in the eyes almost immediately after Mase had recovered enough to resume the fight. Come round three, he successfully raked Mase's eyes. Accidents happen, of course, but that many fouls in one fight is a call for concern, especially with how intentional Gane is when it comes to extending his arm and sticking his fingers in his opponent's face whenever they enter range.

Two fights later, he took on ex-UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos at UFC 256 in what ended up being another brilliant performance. Gane TKO'd the over-the-hill dos Santos in round two, but didn't forget to dip his hand into his bag of dirty tricks. In round one, he kicked 'JDS' in the groin, leading to a brief pause in the action. Before the fight resumed, he was warned by referee Mark Smith to close his fingers to avoid eye pokes, as he had already swiped at dos Santos' face once, narrowly missing by a few inches. In round two, while pursuing the finish against a hurt 'JDS,' 'Bon Gamin' dropped him with an elbow to the back of the head, then pounced with ground-and-pound, including some more illegal back-of-the-head shots, for the TKO win.

Dos Santos wasted no time in complaining about the shots to the back of his head, but his concerns were simply brushed aside.

"What a dirty fighter this Gane is. Again hitting the back of the head. Now what are those 'fight experts' saying about it?"

However, Gane couldn't help himself and continued his controversial ways in his next fight at UFC Vegas 20, where he defeated fellow heavyweight striker Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision. Like clockwork, he kicked Rozenstruik in the groin in round one, before doing so again in round two. Still in round two, he poked Rozenstruik in the eyes, an offense he repeated again in round three. Round four featured more of the same fouling, with Gane kneeing Rozenstruik in the groin. Despite all of his fouls, he didn't get a single point taken away, which has been true of his entire UFC run thus far.

He next faced Alexander Volkov at UFC Vegas 30, eye poking him twice in round two and once in round five, jabbing two fingers in Volkov's right eye. This dirty trend continued into his next fight against Derrick Lewis at UFC 265, where 'Bon Gamin' TKO'd him in round three to win the interim heavyweight belt. The finishing sequence saw him land a series of hammer fists to the back of Lewis' head. Two fights later, he faced fan favorite Tai Tuivasa at UFC Fight Night 209, kicking him in the groin in round one, then again in round three, in which he later landed a big standing hammer fist to the back of Tuivasa's head en route to TKO'ing him. Next came his fight against Jon Jones at UFC 285.

Gane landed a groin kick in the opening seconds of the fight, but it's rarely brought up given how one-sided the fight was, with Jones subsequently taking him down and submitting him in round one. Gane rebounded from the loss at UFC Fight Night 226 with a second-round TKO win over Serghei Spivac, who he eye poked in round one, before later landing several illegal shots to the back of the head in the TKO sequence. In his rematch with Volkov at UFC 310, which he won via controversial split-decision, he grabbed the fence to regain his balance. Unfortunately, it only gets worse.

Ciryl Gane becomes infamous

Despite his well-documented history of committing fouls and fighting dirty beforehand, the idea of Ciryl Gane being a dirty fighter only became a mainstream talking point, within MMA, after UFC 321. He was finally going to face Tom Aspinall, the then reigning heavyweight champion, for the belt. The matchup had years' worth of buildup, with many having accused Gane of previously avoiding it in favor a quicker route to the title. Finally, the two men, both of whom are among the finest pure athletes in the heavyweight division, would meet in the first true post-Jon Jones heavyweight title fight.

For as long as the fight lasted, Gane seemed to be the better fighter, bloodying Aspinall with a sharp jab and frustrating the Englishman's pressure with slick footwork. Then, he poked him in the eye toward the end of round one.

The action was paused and Aspinall was given ample time to recover, but it didn't matter. He couldn't see, so the fight was ultimately ruled a no-contest. It's now been a year since that fight and Aspinall still hasn't been medically cleared to return, having contracted Brown syndrome and gone through multiple eye surgeries. The entire saga caused many in the MMA fandom to turn against Gane and brand him a dirty fighter.

Regardless, Gane dusted himself off and moved forward, as he was booked for the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250 against Alex Pereira. The two men competed for the interim heavyweight title, and 'Bon Gamin' did well by outstriking Pereira throughout. But after dropping him with a jab in round two, he landed several elbows to the back of Pereira's head before ultimately TKO'ing him. His conduct enraged Pereira, who subsequently criticized Gane as a dirty fighter, while Gane himself just blamed his substantial history of fouling on an unintentional set of unfortunate circumstances.

Aspinall, still struggling with his eyes, was later forced to vacate his title, promoting Gane to heavyweight champion, essentially rewarding his actions. There's no way around it. Gane is a dirty fighter. A very dirty fighter, in fact. One who is completely dismissive of the very suggestion that he should be more careful. Now, at UFC 334, he'll defend his heavyweight title against Josh Hokit, and the likelihood of him committing a foul or two is as certain as the sun rising come morning.