GDT: UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane

[chicagoskycam]

Quick Google search and I saw someone say PGA is 33%, but they also allow the players to cut their own sponsorship deals which the UFC does not. I couldn't quickly find anything on ATP, but I believe they also allow the players their own sponsors. I'm not saying the UFC needs to be in line with those leagues. I don't know what the exact number should be, but when they are at nearly 50% and the UFC is only at 18%, something is off. The people that I've heard that have done a deep dive into the UFC financials all seem to agree that 18% is absurdly low.

Focusing on the actual money the fighters are making and ignoring the significantly more money their corporate overlords are stuffing into their pockets doesn't make any sense. That's why people use the revenue split percentage.

Where the additional fighter pay should go is a completely different discussion, one that I'm sure we would disagree on, but the fact remains...the fighters as a whole...are getting 18% (and if I'm not mistaken, like 2-3% is actually USADA which the fighters may or may not even want). In my view, a union would be the best solution and that would be up to them how to divvy up the additional pay. A union is also highly unlikely, though, so...

UFC fighters are not allowed to cut their own deal with UFC sponsors except the bitcoin one. Also, some of them are featured in ads like Nunes (Modela) and Rose (Guaranteed Rate) so I"m sure they are receiving a bit more. Outside of UFC sponsors, they can do whatever they want and have. Many of them do a great job monetizing their IG and some have not.

Something I heard on Rogan I didn't think about, Chad Mendes was talking about when fights get cancelled last minute he would still have to pay for his trainers, gym and coach. Complete loss. UFC should offer some insurance against this.

 

[pistolpete11]

We agree on the union part, and at that time that is when the percentage discussion has relevance to me. People think it means something now and I will just agree to disagree and move on.

Until a union/legislation, everyone involved has chosen a situation that is more of a free market with independent contractors and part of that means how successful the business is as a whole is separated from the pay to independent contractors. I am comfortable with businesses being run this way but it appears many others are not. That does not mean I do not want fighters to get paid more - there are plenty of ways that independent contractors in all businesses figure out ways to get paid more.

Anyways, just my thoughts. I understand they are in the minority and I am mostly just summarizing here so we can move on.

The percentage, or I guess more accurately the data used to calculate that percentage, is the evidence to support that they are underpaid. Without it, it would be a he-said-she-said game of the fighters saying "We want more money" and the UFC saying "We can't afford to pay you more money". We know that's not true because the numbers are all there in the court case, submitted by the UFC under the penalty of law.

 

[pistolpete11]

UFC fighters are not allowed to cut their own deal with UFC sponsors except the bitcoin one. Also, some of them are featured in ads like Nunes (Modela) and Rose (Guaranteed Rate) so I"m sure they are receiving a bit more. Outside of UFC sponsors, they can do whatever they want and have. Many of them do a great job monetizing their IG and some have not.

Something I heard on Rogan I didn't think about, Chad Mendes was talking about when fights get cancelled last minute he would still have to pay for his trainers, gym and coach. Complete loss. UFC should offer some insurance against this.

Their negotiation power is very limited when it comes to the official UFC sponsors and I'm sure they are not allowed to go negotiate a deal with Nike or Red Bull for example. Compared to golfers who can play Titleist, TaylorMade, Ping, Callaway, etc. off of each other or Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, etc. or FedEx, Bridgestone, Oakley, Rolex, etc. Even if they were able to get a sponsor, how much are they really going to get when the UFC doesn't allow anything to be seen during the broadcast when the largest number of people are watching?

I'd be real curious which fighters and how much they are making off Instagram. Outside of like PVZ and O'Malley, I can't imagine it's much.

Regardless, they should be paid appropriately for the job they are doing for the UFC. If they want to put in extra work on their Instagram or whatever, more power to them.

 

[Moncherry]

Has it led to a decline in PPV buys? The PPV estimates that have been released seem fine but they're hard to confirm. And is it known that fighters weren't compensated for a change in structure if it cost them money? It seems like you're just making some assumptions here. I really don't know, I'm just asking as I haven't read/heard any of this being confirmed.

And yes, the top-end fighters can make much more than their reported payouts. It was reported that Conor made an estimated 23 million for this last Poirier fight. The estimates for Poirier were over 5 million but only 1.5 reported. Often this is tied to PPV points that the champs/stars get.

It seems more like you putting your head in the sand than me making assumptions. I'm sure restricting the purchases through an app that not a lot of people have didn't impact their ability to garner buys, or that the UFC generously gave the fighters a cut of the money from the ESPN deal, which was never reported anywhere. Brock Lesnar demanded a much higher fighter purse for his return because the ESPN deal would cut into his PPV points. And yeah, from what I saw of the first PPV buyrates after the move to ESPN, they seemed much lower. You can doubt that if you want, it seems pretty obvious it would have an impact.

Did you think I was referring to the total amount of money they made from the fight? Obviously he earns far more after you figure in his cut of the PPV buys. I'm talking specifically about his fight purse, their guaranteed show money.

I never said he didn't. I am saying the pay day he is looking for, will never happen, because he isn't bringing in those kinds of numbers.

That's not the full amount he gets paid. PPV buys aren't factored into those numbers, nor are sponsorships.

Nobody puts a gun to their head. Fighters highly unhappy with their pay, have left the promotion before. Again. Nobody is forcing them to sign.

You're not comparing apples to apples, my friend. Pointing to Mayweather as an example, ignores why he makes so much money. He takes care of his own promotion. He is the true definition of an entrepreneur athlete.

I never criticized him for playing hardball. I simply pointed out the fact that some fighters are delusional to their actual value. He can play hard all for a decade. He will be the one wasting his talent, and not getting paid.

Look. I side with the UFC for the simple fact that they are a business that markets itself. Paid all employees in full during the pandemic.

There is always room for improvement, but to say Jon Jones is a victim, is where we can agree to disagree.

Yeah right, Jones could ask for any substantial increase which better reflects his drawing power and they still wouldn't give it to him. Brock Lesnar, who is probably a bigger draw than Jones, reportedly sought a reasonable $10 million fight purse for a return fight and the UFC wouldn't even consider it. So claiming that fighters are delusional to their actual value is a bunch of crap, because it's the UFC who's preventing them from being paid their actual value in the first place. That's how you get situations like with Jones. He knows that a fight with Ngannou would be huge, and even if he's being unreasonable, he's still rightfully demanding a far bigger increase in pay for it to happen.

Yeah, I know that's not the full amount McGregor gets paid, and I never claimed it was. Do you guys know what a fight purse is? Christ.

Mayweather is irrelevant to my point. I was referring to boxers the average person wouldn't know about unless they followed Boxing, or just generally boxers who aren't as big a draw as their MMA counterparts, and the money they make solely from Boxing, not business outside of it. If McGregor was a boxer, with his drawing power he would take home fight purses that would dwarf the ones he gets from the UFC, even with PPV points included.

Again with this "nobody puts a gun to their head" bullshit. The tactics the UFC uses to exploit fighters are well known. It's been exposed in court.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Their negotiation power is very limited when it comes to the official UFC sponsors and I'm sure they are not allowed to go negotiate a deal with Nike or Red Bull for example. Compared to golfers who can play Titleist, TaylorMade, Ping, Callaway, etc. off of each other or Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, etc. or FedEx, Bridgestone, Oakley, Rolex, etc. Even if they were able to get a sponsor, how much are they really going to get when the UFC doesn't allow anything to be seen during the broadcast when the largest number of people are watching?

I'd be real curious which fighters and how much they are making off Instagram. Outside of like PVZ and O'Malley, I can't imagine it's much.

Regardless, they should be paid appropriately for the job they are doing for the UFC. If they want to put in extra work on their Instagram or whatever, more power to them.

I'm not sure and it depends on the number of followers. I know some people that do very well with 500k, most UFC fighters, and champs are well over 1 million followers, I think Conor is at 41 million. I'm sure Conor can get 100k for one post with a product in it. Shevchenko does a lot with her IG as well. The problem is the champs and contenders are in a better position to dictate terms to the UFC and have done that regardless if they are under contract or not, Masvidal, Conor, Jones, etc. The lower tier and unranked fighters are in a tough spot but the UFC rosters so many fighters now. The UFC is also not the only show in town but they know the upside is so much greater. Bellator is great for guys that are on the step-down or just get a huge payday over there.

 

[m9]

It seems more like you putting your head in the sand than me making assumptions.

Not at all, no need to be so confrontational. I agree it would stand to reason that there might be a PPV drop and that was the original thought, but I've also heard that ESPN+ has been extremely successful and being on ESPN in general would lead to more interest in the sport and higher PPV buys. The UFC/ESPN does a great job of keeping this information secret so I have no idea if it's had a negative impact on fighters. I thought maybe you did. They have had some (reportedly) massive cards but they've also really only released buys for bigger cards so who knows.

How am I supposed to know which $ you were referring to? Conor gets a reported 3 million for a fight and then you reference that number as what Conor is getting paid. Then you say "of course I know they make a more than that!". So why post the first number when you know it isn't true?

 

[pistolpete11]

I'm not sure and it depends on the number of followers. I know some people that do very well with 500k, most UFC fighters, and champs are well over 1 million followers, I think Conor is at 41 million. I'm sure Conor can get 100k for one post with a product in it. Shevchenko does a lot with her IG as well. The problem is the champs and contenders are in a better position to dictate terms to the UFC and have done that regardless if they are under contract or not, Masvidal, Conor, Jones, etc. The lower tier and unranked fighters are in a tough spot but the UFC rosters so many fighters now. The UFC is also not the only show in town but they know the upside is so much greater. Bellator is great for guys that are on the step-down or just get a huge payday over there.

OK, yeah, so Conor was a bad oversight on my part I'm not so worried about whether Conor gets more money. Although, based on what he brings in, he probably does deserve more.

But like I said, the UFC should be paying them based on the job they are doing for the UFC. Not justifying exploiting them by saying there are other ways to make money.

 

[Moncherry]

Not at all, no need to be so confrontational. I agree it would stand to reason that there might be a PPV drop and that was the original thought, but I've also heard that ESPN+ has been extremely successful and being on ESPN in general would lead to more interest in the sport and higher PPV buys. The UFC/ESPN does a great job of keeping this information secret so I have no idea if it's had a negative impact on fighters. I thought maybe you did. They have had some (reportedly) massive cards but they've also really only released buys for bigger cards so who knows.

How am I supposed to know which $ you were referring to? Conor gets a reported 3 million for a fight and then you reference that number as what Conor is getting paid. Then you say "of course I know they make a more than that!". So why post the first number when you know it isn't true?

I specifically said fight purse in my post.

It's also ironic you bring up McGregor, because that guy is being robbed blind by the UFC and is probably the most underpaid fighter relative to the revenue he brings in for them. $3 million fight purses? Utter joke.

 

[m9]

Bringing it back to this PPV a bit, does anyone have a gut feeling for what someone like Cyril Gane should have made in terms of $ for this year? 3 fights - 2 ESPN main event wins & a PPV interim title win.

I actually haven't looked at what he's earned - I assume not great - but I'm just curious what people think those accomplishments are worth monetarily.

 

[m9]

I specifically said fight purse in my post.

Sure, but why the disdain for that number? You know it is going to be misleading for some people as the majority of fighters make only their purse. It could be $1, who cares? I don't understand why it matters when everyone knows Conor is making much, much more than that.

You should look back at some of the purses Fedor got in North America, they were comically low because the rest was not reported. It's not just a UFC thing, it's been around MMA forever. I was always told it was a tax thing, but who knows.

 

[chicagoskycam]

OK, yeah, so Conor was a bad oversight on my part I'm not so worried about whether Conor gets more money. Although, based on what he brings in, he probably does deserve more.

But like I said, the UFC should be paying them based on the job they are doing for the UFC. Not justifying exploiting them by saying there are other ways to make money.

that’s the problem though. Many of these lower-ranked fighters are not going to sell PPV’s or even warrant a tune-in on ESPN. Most people in this thread are die-hards that will watch undercards and whatnot. So what are they worth? We have no idea what the revenue and expenses of these events are as they are not open about it. Some are signing a contract to fight in the UFC and then almost instantly complaining about the pay. Unfortunately, there are not a ton of options If this is your career choice

all of the big names would have to come together to support a union for the little guys to have more. I’d like to see long-term health care options for fighters and insurance against cancellations, as well as better pay and the ability to advertise directly one time on their shorts or banner. UFC should make it easy for them to make money with their image and even school them on how to monetize their social media.

There is a reason O'Malley is getting PPV cards, he sells! It's actually good that Bare Knuckle is growing as it provides some other avenues for fighters, Mendes is doing it with the blessing of the UFC as he's under contract still.

 

[m9]

that’s the problem though. Many of these lower ranked fighters are not going to sell PPV’s or even warrant a tune in on ESPN. Most people in this thread are die hards that will watch under cards and what not. So what are they worth? We have no idea what the revenue and expenses of what these events are as they are not open about it. Some are signing a contract to fight in the UFC and then almost instantly complaining about the pay. Unfortunately, there are not a ton of options If this is your career choice

all of the big names would have to come together to support a union for the little guys to have more. I’d like to see long term health care options for fighters and insurance against cancellations, as well as better pay and the ability to advertise directly one time on their shorts or banner. UFC should make it easy for them to make money with their image and even school them on how to monetize their social media

Short of a union, I wonder if fighters working with legit, good sports agents might be part of the solution. If you got a bunch under the same agency they would have much better leverage.

I kind of think there is already a little bit of this with a couple MMA agents, but I have to think there are bigger opportunities for this kind of thing in the future.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Short of a union, I wonder if fighters working with legit, good sports agents might be part of the solution. If you got a bunch under the same agency they would have much better leverage.

I kind of think there is already a little bit of this with a couple MMA agents, but I have to think there are bigger opportunities for this kind of thing in the future.

I believe most of them have agents already and they typically get deals done, Jones is proving to be a bit more difficult and I believe he just fired his agent.

 

[m9]

I believe most of them have agents already and they typically get them done, Jones is proving to be a bit more difficult and I believe he just fired his agent.

I know they have agents, I'm more talking if top guys jumped to the same agency which could create some extra leverage in negotiations similar to how a union would.

 

[chicagoskycam]

I know they have agents, I'm more talking if top guys jumped to the same agency which could create some extra leverage in negotiations similar to how a union would.

They could all hire Scott Boris, lol. Be prepared for some guys to sit out for years and that's the thing with negotiating. I think Jones was asking for 20 million plus

 

[Egg]

He knows that a fight with Ngannou would be huge

Not nearly as huge as if McGregor and Nurmagomedov had fought a second time.

Heck, Tate facing Rhonda Rousey again, would be much bigger.

Usman vs Covington. I could go on.

One must understand their value if they hope to gain leverage, vs having perception as to what they believe their value is.

One is based on fact, that can easily be demonstrated. The other is based on emotions such as pride, which are useless.

Like Costa demanding a huge raise, coming off of a knockout loss where he was taught a master class. Honestly. He wouldn't get a penny more. String a few devastating wins, and give yourself leverage.

There literally is little pressure on putting together Ngannou vs Jones.

The tactics the UFC uses to exploit fighters are well known. It's been exposed in court.

Again. You choose to take a job knowing their underhanded reputation, and the company is at fault for doing what it does best?

Thats like someone refusing to lock their doors at night and getting robbed multiple times, refusing to blame anyone but the thief.

 

[pistolpete11]

that’s the problem though. Many of these lower-ranked fighters are not going to sell PPV’s or even warrant a tune-in on ESPN. Most people in this thread are die-hards that will watch undercards and whatnot. So what are they worth? We have no idea what the revenue and expenses of these events are as they are not open about it. Some are signing a contract to fight in the UFC and then almost instantly complaining about the pay. Unfortunately, there are not a ton of options If this is your career choice

Yeah, it's a good question and one I don't have a strong opinion on. But I will say, I think those guys and gals still provide value to the UFC even if it's not directly related to attracting eyeballs. I've made this comparison before, but nobody is tuning into the NHL to see the average 4th line left winger. They are watching for the McDavid's, Crosby's, Ovechkin's, etc. But that 4th line winger makes $750,000 per year because they are still providing some support to the NHL and helping to some degree making it what it is. I don't think the number for your average prelim fighter is $750,000 per year by any means, but I don't really have a number in mind either.

all of the big names would have to come together to support a union for the little guys to have more. I’d like to see long-term health care options for fighters and insurance against cancellations, as well as better pay and the ability to advertise directly one time on their shorts or banner. UFC should make it easy for them to make money with their image and even school them on how to monetize their social media.

Yeah which is why a union is so unlikely. Everybody is just looking out for #1, but it's hard to blame them. They've literally fought to get to where they are. If they have an opportunity to make some money, they are going to take it. Look at the whole Tony-Poirier thing where they both told the UFC to go pound sand.....until Poirier got offered Conor. Or Jones wants too much money, so they do Lewis-Gane for an interim belt. There is almost always another option the UFC can use to get things moving again. At some point, the fighter will need to make some money and come off their asking price. It's how the UFC has got to this point without having a union.

I'd also like to see the win bonus go away. I really find it hard to believe fighters need more of an incentive than the guy across from them is trying to hurt them. Not to mention a win advances their career. It's just kind of sickening when someone puts it all out there, maybe loses a razor thin decision, and gets their pay cut in half because of it. Or worse, gets screwed by the judges. Even if they end up getting knocked out, they get salt rubbed in their wound. Just pay them both higher show money and get rid of the win bonus.

 

[m9]

I'd also like to see the win bonus go away. I really find it hard to believe fighters need more of an incentive than the guy across from them is trying to hurt them. Not to mention a win advances their career. It's just kind of sickening when someone puts it all out there, maybe loses a razor thin decision, and gets their pay cut in half because of it. Or worse, gets screwed by the judges. Even if they end up getting knocked out, they get salt rubbed in their wound. Just pay them both higher show money and get rid of the win bonus.

Yeah, I agree with this. I feel like you are seeing the higher show more and more with the veteran fighters but not really the young guys and it would be great if it became more of an industry standard. I would also like to see minimums based on card placement as well. If you're fighting a 5 round ESPN main event you should be getting a nice bump.

We've had the NHL 4th liner vs AHL conversation before, but maybe some sort of two-way contract would be fair and solves that. If you're on a prelim then you get a certain (lower) amount but anyone who is on an ESPN main card gets a 25k/25k minimum or something. Then maybe other minimums for co-mains, mains, etc.

 

[pistolpete11]

Yeah, I agree with this. I feel like you are seeing the higher show more and more with the veteran fighters but not really the young guys and it would be great if it became more of an industry standard. I would also like to see minimums based on card placement as well. If you're fighting a 5 round ESPN main event you should be getting a nice bump.

We've had the NHL 4th liner vs AHL conversation before, but maybe some sort of two-way contract would be fair and solves that. If you're on a prelim then you get a certain (lower) amount but anyone who is on an ESPN main card gets a 25k/25k minimum or something. Then maybe other minimums for co-mains, mains, etc.

I feel like that has the potential to open a can of worms of guys turning fights down because they want better card placement. I guess it would depend on how it was structured exactly.

Number of fights in the UFC minimums would be another option. It would take any of the opinion stuff out of it. Using the same win bonus model and starting point (if I haven't been clear I'd like to get rid of the win bonus and the starting point to be higher ) but say you start at 15/15 then at 5 fights you get bumped to 30/30 and 10 fights 75/75 or something like that. Either the UFC sees value in you and is forced to pay you or they are forced to let you go. I think Corey Anderson was making 65/65 in his 14th fight in the UFC. He finally forced his way out and says he made more in 6 months at Bellator than 7 years in the UFC. Of course, if the fighter is willing to take less to stay in the UFC or the UFC is willing to pay more to keep them happy, that's their decision, but it would prevent the UFC from holding guys hostage and give the fighters at least some leverage. Doesn't really change much for the stars, though, I guess.

I don't know. None of it matters until some mechanism is put in place to force the UFC's hand. Because they ain't doing any of it unless they are forced to.

 

[CDJ]

I think incentivizing all finishes is a good idea

 

[m9]

I feel like that has the potential to open a can of worms of guys turning fights down because they want better card placement. I guess it would depend on how it was structured exactly.

Number of fights in the UFC minimums would be another option. It would take any of the opinion stuff out of it. Using the same win bonus model and starting point (if I haven't been clear I'd like to get rid of the win bonus and the starting point to be higher ) but say you start at 15/15 then at 5 fights you get bumped to 30/30 and 10 fights 75/75 or something like that. Either the UFC sees value in you and is forced to pay you or they are forced to let you go. I think Corey Anderson was making 65/65 in his 14th fight in the UFC. He finally forced his way out and says he made more in 6 months at Bellator than 7 years in the UFC. Of course, if the fighter is willing to take less to stay in the UFC or the UFC is willing to pay more to keep them happy, that's their decision, but it would prevent the UFC from holding guys hostage and give the fighters at least some leverage. Doesn't really change much for the stars, though, I guess.

I don't know. None of it matters until some mechanism is put in place to force the UFC's hand. Because they ain't doing any of it unless they are forced to.

I just think the number of fights thing is tough because then you are going to see veterans get dumped because they can be replaced by someone cheaper and it hurts the fans who would rather see that vet on a prelim than some TUF 147 cast-off. The same thing happened in the NFL as vets got replaced by cheap guys, so then the union (there's that word again) negotiated the vets to make more money but count less against the salary cap. But yeah, you are probably going to see some unintended consequences no matter what you do.

The stuff like the Corey Anderson situation isn't really surprising to me as if guys leave at a good time then they are going to get a nice payday. For every Corey Anderson there are 10 guys who leave and who are making peanuts on the regional scene. And hey, I'll give some credit to the UFC there for releasing him out of his contract to sign that bigger deal when they really had no obligation to. But on the other side.. for every Corey Anderson who gets released there are probably 10 guys who the UFC tells to f*** off and honor their contract.

Incentivizing every finish would just be such a good start to me. The emotions you see when some of the fighters find out they are getting that bonus is some of the most compelling stuff you see in sports. Like, Cheyanne Buys finding out she can pay her bills was a great video that almost nobody saw because it was in a locker room hours later. If you're the UFC you have a chance to put in a system where a fighter knows they are getting a big cheque and you'll get to see them have that moment in the cage. That kind of stuff really captures fans and makes them want to see fighters again. It's a really big missed opportunity in my opinion. Plus, then we don't have to have the cringy begging for bonuses part of the post-fight interview.

 

[pistolpete11]

I just think the number of fights thing is tough because then you are going to see veterans get dumped because they can be replaced by someone cheaper and it hurts the fans who would rather see that vet on a prelim than some TUF 147 cast-off. The same thing happened in the NFL as vets got replaced by cheap guys, so then the union (there's that word again) negotiated the vets to make more money but count less against the salary cap. But yeah, you are probably going to see some unintended consequences no matter what you do.

The stuff like the Corey Anderson situation isn't really surprising to me as if guys leave at a good time then they are going to get a nice payday. For every Corey Anderson there are 10 guys who leave and who are making peanuts on the regional scene. And hey, I'll give some credit to the UFC there for releasing him out of his contract to sign that bigger deal when they really had no obligation to. But on the other side.. for every Corey Anderson who gets released there are probably 10 guys who the UFC tells to f*** off and honor their contract.

Incentivizing every finish would just be such a good start to me. The emotions you see when some of the fighters find out they are getting that bonus is some of the most compelling stuff you see in sports. Like, Cheyanne Buys finding out she can pay her bills was a great video that almost nobody saw because it was in a locker room hours later. If you're the UFC you have a chance to put in a system where a fighter knows they are getting a big cheque and you'll get to see them have that moment in the cage. That kind of stuff really captures fans and makes them want to see fighters again. It's a really big missed opportunity in my opinion. Plus, then we don't have to have the cringy begging for bonuses part of the post-fight interview.

Like I said, if the fighter is willing to take less than the minimum for his level, that's up to him. But if he's not, the UFC would either have to pay him or be forced to let him go.

I don't really have a problem with awarding finishes as long as it's in addition to the current performance bonuses or at least every finish gets whatever...$50k. If they are just taking the current performance bonus money and splitting it up differently, it's not putting more money in the hands of fighters. It

 

[BGDDYKWL]

Certainly can't knock Gane as he put on an absolute clinic, but I was absolutely stunned that he didn't throw more left body kicks. Lewis has always seemed very vulnerable to the body, and as a southpaw who can kick, it just seems like such an obvious approach. Sure is great to finally have a legit prospect at HW. Been a while.

 

[Egg]

Certainly can't knock Gane as he put on an absolute clinic, but I was absolutely stunned that he didn't throw more left body kicks.

His coach put it best. Lewis has a highly underrated fight IQ.

He will lull fighters into making mistakes, by creating clever traps, where they open themselves up for damage. All he needs is one shot.

I liked how his attacks were measured, and precise, all while masterfully controlling the distance and making Lewis work very hard to even remotely land a shot.

To me, he didn't rush any shots and kept that composure all fight.

There aren't any heavyweights on his level, unless he is matched with Jones.

 

[CDJ]

He’s by far the smoothest athlete at heavyweight, I wouldn’t go as far to say Francis isn’t on Gane’s level but Jones might be. I think Francis ends up knocking out both


Stipe vs Gane would be interesting I think