Ciryl
Gane has some serious basketball skills.

Gane was recently seen playing one-on-one against Minnesota
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert. “Bon Gamin†impressively scored
twice against Gobert, who is a four-time NBA Defensive Player of
the Year. The two-time interim champion posted the video on his
Instagram Stories.

Ciryl Gane's basketball skills impress against NBA star Rudy
Gobert

Gane used to play basketball and soccer before he started training
muay thai in 2016. The Frenchman quickly found success in combat
sports, making his professional MMA debut just two years later.

Arguably the most light-footed heavyweight on the
Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, Gane has only lost to
former champs Francis
Ngannou and Jon Jones in
his entire pro career. Notably, he's competed in charity soccer
events in France and, more impressively, can pull off a variety of
dunks with a basketball.

He knocked out Alex
Pereira to win an interim heavyweight title at
UFC Freedom 250 this past June. The 36-year-old is now expected
to rematch Tom
Aspinall in a title unifier when the champion returns.

😬Ciryl Gane
basketball skills are insane.

🀠He’s playing with Rudy Gobert who’s a 4-time NBA Defensive Player
of the Year.

🎥 @ciryl_gane
pic.twitter.com/6nJUrtkaZV

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight)
August 2, 2026

Ciryl Gane
before MMA and boy can he dunk 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pPwCd2fgbi

— ð•½ð–†ð–Žð–“ð–’ð–†ð–ð–Šð–—â‚ (@Sa_Gwang)
January 24, 2022

Coach Javier Mendez recently revealed that Islam
Makhachev guided Usman
Nurmagomedov to a knockout victory over Archie
Colgan.

Nurmagomedov (22-0) put his
Professional Fighters League lightweight title on the line
against a previously undefeated Colgan in Long Island, New York.
Nurmagomedov dropped Colgan with a perfect question-mark kick to
the head in the opening round. While Colgan got back up on wobbly
legs, the Russian finished him with a precisely timed uppercut to
close out
PFL New York.

The striking technique Islam Makhachev learned before his
Alexander Volkanovski KO reached Usman

Nurmagomedov has a star-studded team behind him, comprising his
cousin and Hall of Famer Khabib, brother and top-ranked UFC
bantamweight Umar, coach Mendez and UFC welterweight champion
Makhachev.

An elite
middleweight clash headlines PFL Charlotte: Tune on Friday, Aug. 7
at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Mendez has now revealed that Makhachev had advised Nurmagomedov to
fake teep kicks to the body before going to the head. Mendez also
claimed that Makhachev had originally learned the technique from
his striking coach, Magomed Bagandov, ahead of his brutal head-kick
knockout win over Alexander
Volkanovski in their 2023 rematch.

“It was actually Islam's advice that got the job done,†Mendez said
in an interview with Submission Radio. “He told [Usman], ‘Teep up
the middle, feint and feint, and then go with the head kick.' And
then that's exactly what happened… This was the same technique
shown to Islam by his coach Magomed and Islam showed it to
Usman.â€

Usman is now the hottest free agent in MMA after closing out his
last PFL contract in style, with rumors of a UFC move now
circulating. Meanwhile, his brother Umar is gearing up for a Fight
Night main event against Yadong Song
on Aug. 29 in Shanghai, China, and Makhachev is scheduled to defend
his welterweight title against Ian Garry
(17-1) at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

Khamzat
Chimaev's coach Murad Bichuev claims a change of opponent led
to weight cut issues in his last fight in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Chimaev (15-1) lost his middleweight title to Sean
Strickland (31-7) in a shocking upset this past May. “Borz†was
visibly drained in the second round, forced to abandon his
wrestling and fought the rest of the fight on the feet, where he
was outworked by Strickland. Chimaev's coach has now detailed why
he struggled in the bout.

Murad Bichuev says Chimaev was preparing for Jiri Prochazka
before returning to middleweight

Bichuev claims Chimaev was originally bulking up to move up to
light heavyweight to fight Jiri
Prochazka. However, the UFC allegedly then changed plans and
told Chimaev to defend his middleweight title against Strickland
instead. According to Bichuev, they had a short window to prepare
for the fight against Strickland, which led to weight-cut issues
for a bulked-up Chimaev.

“The weight cut was an issue because he was initially set to face
Procházka at 205,†Bichuev told Red Corner MMA. “So, we were mostly
focusing on his physique. He started gaining muscle. He was gaining
weight more than before. And then they said, ‘No, we're leaving
this option aside; you have to fight Strickland at 185.' That's why
we didn't have much time and we faced more problems than we
expected.â€

Chimaev was teasing a move up to light heavyweight after claiming
the middleweight belt. Following his loss against Strickland,
Dana
White said that the Chechen-born fighter was determined to move
up. However, Chimaev has since been rallying for a rematch against
Strickland, repeatedly calling out the American on social
media.

“Khamzat was gaining weight for Prochazka,
but then they said it will be Strickland”

Khamzat
Chimaev's coach, Murad Bichuev, reveals the team was originally
focused on preparing for a light heavyweight fight against Jiří
Procházka before being switched to Sean
Strickland at… pic.twitter.com/bHomveb86K

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
August 2, 2026