Ciryl Gane brushes off dirty fighter label, but others are convinced: 'All of these things are illegal'

NEW YORK -- When Ciryl Gane enters a room, it's difficult to miss the youthful joy that radiates off the smile of the muscular, 6-foot-5 UFC heavyweight champion. 

After all, the 36-year-old Gane (14-2, 1 NC) is nicknamed "Bon Gamin," which translates to English as the "good kid." And life is certainly well and good at the moment for the first French-born champion in UFC history as he enters his first full title defense on Saturday at UFC 334 against brash upstart Josh Hokit (10-0) in the main event at Madison Square Garden. 

No, Gane didn't become the undisputed champion in the traditional way, which makes his current title reign very much disputed to some. Injuries and multiple surgeries on both eyes forced Tom Aspinall to vacate the title after his fight with Gane ended in a no contest last October due to accidental eye pokes. 

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Gane was previously 0-for-2 in heavyweight title bouts thanks to disappointing losses to Francis Ngannou in 2022 and Jon Jones in 20203. But after he finished Alex Pereira via 2nd-round TKO in June at the White House to win the interim title – despite claims from the former two-division champion that he was repeatedly hit  behind the head – Gane was upgraded to full champion in September. 

UFC 334 fight card -- Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit: Five biggest storylines to follow in New York

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From Gane's standpoint, whether it be defending himself against the sophomoric attempts from Hokit to get inside his head or the criticism of the public, he's far too blessed to be stressed. 

"I'm comfortable in this situation," Gane told CBS Sports on Tuesday. "I'm too happy, I'm too full of love. It doesn't matter if people want to talk about me the wrong way. That's OK. I'm happy. I'm with my friends. We are together in New York. We are going to fight. I'm healthy. I try to keep my family healthy, too. I'm OK." 

Gane's many vocal critics, whether it be fans or opposing fighters, tell a somewhat different story, however. 

If there's an elephant in the room surrounding Gane, it's the narrative that he's a dirty fighter. And it isn't just the results of his last two fights. In fact, all six of Gane's most recent UFC opponents dating back to 2022 have complained publicly about his conduct, from Alexander Volkov and Serghei Spivac to Jones and Tai Tuivasa. 

Even though Gane carries himself with such an amiable personality, it's hard to ignore his recent history, which raises an all-important question regarding intent.

"What he's doing in these fights is dirty, for sure. Obviously, all of these things are illegal," UFC legend and Paramount+ analyst Dustin Poirier told CBS Sports from the set of "Deep Waters" on Monday. "The question is: Is he intentionally going into these fights trying to get the upperhand? I don't know if that's the case … but it doesn't seem like he's trying to fix the problems or fix the illegal things that are happening because it keeps happening."

For the record, veteran referee Herb Dean, who officiated Gane's UFC Freedom 250 win over Pereira, posted a video on social media defending Gane's strikes as legal under the unified rules and further explained that shots to the back of the head are only illegal when they connect with the nape of the neck. 

Pereira, however, in the aftermath of the loss, simply wouldn't let the topic go and has repeatedly taken shots at both Gane and Dean. 

"[Pereira] can do whatever he wants," Gane said. "People like to say some stupid things [about] me. But, it's just about statistics, just about the rules [and] the facts when the biggest referee in the history of the UFC is going to tell you, 'No, there is nothing special [or illegal] with Ciryl.' But the people like to talk. That's OK." 

Gane's trainer, Fernand Lopez, insists that his camp at the MMA Factory in Paris strictly impresses upon his fighters the dangers of not being in control. If an accidental foul happens during sparring, Lopez said he immediately halts the action to teach and impress upon it.

"I don't think [Gane's reputation] is something that is relevant, to be honest with you," Lopez told CBS Sports on Tuesday. "We live in a sport that has rules. You can't complain about rules when you don't listen to what the referee says to you. The referee, who has [worked] 3,000 matches is saying to you that this isn't a foul in the back of the head and then you keep saying to the other guys, 'You fouled me.' You are not respecting a referee. You are a fighter, you are not a referee. Why should I believe you?

"This is stupid to just listen to people online saying things because, then, things change. The same guy that is happy for the enforcement of the rules will be crying tomorrow."

Lopez's comments, when applied to the Pereira fight only, are certainly reasonable and justified, especially given Dean's analysis. But Gane's history goes well beyond that, including the accidental use of illegal knees and elbows, along with groin shots. 

So, should Gane be considered more physically reckless than dirty? 

"I'm not saying [these allegations] are coming out of nowhere. People can be reckless, [Gane] might be reckless," Lopez said. "But it can happen to anyone [and] if experts stop listening to facts because they are disappointed in the losing fighter, that [changes everything]."

While Poirier believes Gane needs to become better at being in control of his physical weapons, he does, as a former fighter, have sympathy for how quickly the sport moves and the emotions that come with that. 

"It's hard to walk the line when you're in a scramble," Poirier said. "Shots are being fired, you're in a shootout and you're trying to hurt the guy. Things are going to happen. Eyes are going to get poked. Punches are going to land behind the ear and kind of behind the head when you're fighting like that. You are doing anything you can to hurt the person in front of you. But once it happens, there shouldn't be any more follow up shots. Once you do throw one or two and you realize what you're hitting, you shouldn't continue hitting that same spot."

Poirier has plenty of history being on the wrong end what he believes are dirty tactics, from his heated 2022 win over Michael Chandler where he accused his opponent of putting fingers in his mouth and blowing bloody snot at him, along with multiple illegal strikes, to his trilogy with Conor McGregor that featured multiple accusations against the Irish superstar who Poirier labeled "a dirtbag." 

But it was Poirier's two-fight series with Eddie Alvarez in 2017 and 2018 where he learned firsthand the dangers of how an illegal strike can affect the momentum of a fight. Their first meeting at UFC 211 was ruled a no contest after Alvarez landed an illegal knee to the head of a downed opponent. Poirier won the rematch via 2nd-round TKO. 

"It was one of the worst concussion symptoms that I have had after a fight and I have been in some bangers," Poirier said. "It didn't seem crazy in the moment but it messed me up. The referee was saying it's hard to tell if [Alvarez] knew I was down and threw the knee illegally with intent. We will never know that. We can't get into a guy's head. There needs to be some kind of chain of command where we can go to instant replay or two people sitting side-by-side to review things. These things not only alter the fight, these alter people's careers. 

"It's a huge thing when these things don't get called or get called wrong."

Poirier believes the onus is on a fighter and his team, should they expect an opponent to be dirty, to plant a seed in the referee's mind during the pre-fight instructions in the locker room. More importantly, Poirier said he has always been against the idea of immediate retaliation to a foul as some form of street justice, mostly because of the importance for a fighter to remain as calm as possible and stick to the gameplan without letting emotions take over. 

When asked whether he believes Gane is a dirty fighter or whether the topic has played a role in his preparation, Hokit was immediately dismissive of it all, saying, "It doesn't matter." He did, however, add that he's prepared to retaliate immediately should anything happen on Saturday. 

"I don't even want to put too much thought into it but my thing is, if he hits me in the back of the head, I'm poking him in the eyes," Hokit said. "If he pokes me in the eyes, I hit him low. He hits me low, I've got to stab him now. He stabs me, I'm shooting him. He shoots me, I'm finding his family and killing them. He finds my family and kills them, I've got to go to France and I'm conquering his whole f---ing country. That's the mentality I bring.

"I'm not worried about it too much. I think it's all a part of fighting. If he pokes me in the eye, it is what it is. I'll fight blind, I don't care."

At the end of the day, Gane believes that the people in the fight game that truly matters -- his peers -- all understand what type of fighter and person he truly is at heart and that he has already moved on. 

"More and more now [I hear about this narrative] with my team because I'm not too focused on the social media," Gane said. "More and more you can see the real champions and the real good fighters saying, 'No, Cyril is not a cheater.' So, step by step, the people try to balance [it] a little bit. But I'm OK. It doesn't matter if people want to talk about me the wrong way. That's OK, that's OK."