French UFC star Ciryl Gane has reflected on his loss to Jon Jones last March when the two met for the vacant UFC heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
Throughout the build-up to the contest, many fans were expecting an even fight, but Jones secured the win with ease via a first-round submission.
Now that the dust has settled and Jones' next UFC heavyweight title defence is set, Gane has had time to look back on the defeat and blamed his struggles when it comes managing the distance as key cause for the loss.
"I don’t know why exactly, but I cannot manage my distance very well during some moments, and I did a mistake,” Gane told MMAJunkie.
“It wasn’t possible to manage the distance, and I did some stuff to break this atmosphere, and I did a mistake at this moment.
"Maybe he knew already I’m going to do this mistake, and he took his opportunity. … During all camp Fernand Lopez told me every time we started training, jab and no big hand. Just jab. And what I did? A big hand. Big mistake, and he took the opportunity.”