Heavyweight prospects Ciryl Gane (4-0, 2 KOs, 2 SUBs) and Don’Tale Mayes (6-2, 4 KOs) will meet at UFC on ESPN+ 20 on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The card streams live on ESPN+ at 8am ET.
Ciryl Gane checks off all the right boxes when it comes to the things you want to see in a heavweight prospect. He’s young for the division at 29, and tips the scales at 265 pounds with a ripped, 6’5” frame. On top of that, he trains with current No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou on a daily basis at the MMA Factory in France.
Remember, the UFC heavyweight division is the only weight class where raw physical talent can carry you into the top 15. Though Gane is only four fights into a so-far undefeated MMA career, he’s got all the tools to be a contender in just a few years. It took Ngannou less than two years to fight his way into a title shot, where he closed as a favorite over champion Stipe Miocic.
Of course, it can all come crashing down fast in the UFC’s most volatile weight class. Hoping to derail Gane’s hype is Don’Tale Mayes, a giant himself at 6’6”, 260 pounds. A three-time alum of DWCS, “Kong” finally earned his ticket to the big show after back-to-back knockouts of Mitchell Sipe and Ricardo Prasel. While he doesn’t have the same buzz as Gane, Mayes has been on the UFC radar for some time now, and he’s another dude who might be able to steamroll the lower-ranked fighters with his physicality alone.
On one hand, it’s awesome to see two prospects square off so early in their careers. On the other, both men probably could benefit greatly from facing off against lesser fighters right now. One thing’s for certain: the likelihood of a finish are extremely high here. Let’s take a look at the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and break down your best betting options. Live UFC betting at the online sportsbook is available if you want to make bets during the fight with real-time line udpates.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Ciryl Gane -300
Don’tale Mayes +228
Fight goes / doesn’t go to decision: +325 / -475
Significant Striking Stats
Landed per minute: Gane 3.57 / Mayes -
Striking accuracy: Gane 68% / Mayes -
Strikes absorbed per minute: Gane 1.67 / Mayes -
Striking defense: Gane 82% / Mayes -
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Gane 0 / Mayes 0
Takedown accuracy: Gane - / Mayes -
Takedown defense: Gane 100% / Mayes -
Submission average: Gane 3.57 / Mayes -
Bet this UFC fight at BookMaker.eu now
To be honest, you can pretty much disregard the FightMetric stats: they only count UFC fights, and Gane only has one while Mayes is making his debut. We’ll have a better idea of how each man operates with a few more fights, but for now we’ve got to go by what we see on tape and what we know about their training camps.
Gane is Muay Thai specialist, and prior to joining the UFC he fought in Montreal’s TKO MMA - a solid regional promotion. This was a case of the Frenchman obviously being a big fish in a small pond, as he finished all three of his opponents early and hoisted the heavyweight title in less than a year after joining. Seeing as he had signed a Glory contract before opting to join the UFC, it’s clear that the man is going to be a problem on the feet. What was surprising was that in his UFC debut against Rafael Pessoa, he showed the ability to find an arm-triangle choke in a wild scramble.
Mayes had to fight three times on DWCS before getting a UFC contract. The first time, he gassed badly and lost by third-round TKO to Allen Crowder. In his second opportunity against Mitchell Sipe, he won a bloody back-and-forth battle against Mitchell Sipe. But things finally seemed to click against Ricardo Prasel, as Mayes was able to confidently land combinations and fight off takedown attempts. While he is still clearly developing, it’s also obvious that he can drop dudes easily if he connects.
UFC Odds Pick: Gane to win inside the distance
Right now, Gane is ahead of Mayes in terms of all-around skill. There is a chance that Kong makes this fight ugly and drags out a win, but the most likely conclusion here is that the Frenchman controls the standup, piles up the damage and scores a finish.
Bet on UFC odds at BookMaker.eu now
