After decimating Derrick Lewis in the main event of Saturday's UFC 265 to become the interim heavyweight champion, Ciryl Gane's focus now shifts to the man at the top of the mountain, Francis Ngannou, to crown an undisputed heavyweight titlist.
But things have been shaky between the UFC president Dana White and Ngannou since the latter captured the gold from Stipe Mioicic at UFC 260. White wanted Ngannou to face Lewis at UFC 265. But Ngannou wasn't going to be ready as he was coming back from a tour of Africa and needed more time to prepare. Ngannou had agreed to fight Lewis at UFC 266 on Sept. 25, but the head of the UFC didn't want to make it for then and proceeded to book the interim title fight, which upset Ngannou and many fans.
During the lead-up to UFC 265, White admitted his relationship with Ngannou is on shaky ground these days.
Will cooler heads prevail, and the fight gets made?
DAZN News takes a look at three options for Gane if Ngannou and White stay in their stalemate.
Jon Jones
This is the obvious choice. But like Ngannou, Jones is locked in a feud with White over fighter pay as he wants to be paid handsomely, and rightfully so, for a move up to heavyweight and battle the most vicious striker in UFC history.
A Gane-Jones clash would be a sight to see. Both have a similar style to where they are both tactical, but when they strike, it's lethal. It would be the ultimate chess match and one that could honestly go down as a classic.
The question is would Jones settle for Gane? The prospect of taking on the interim champion allows Jones to get his feet wet in the land of the giants and prepare him for the test of a lifetime against Ngannou.
Stipe Miocic
If Ngannou or Jones fail to come to fruition, it's hard to imagine a better option than the former two-time kingpin and the man who is considered as the heavyweight GOAT.
Like with Ngannou and Jones, Miocic is upset at White and UFC brass. The Cleveland native is miffed the White and company didn't grant him a trilogy fight with Ngannou after UFC 260. Miocic isn't wrong in his mindset. However, for everything Miocic has accomplished, he deserves a chance to get right the wrong versus Ngannou.
The counter to that is the best way to force the UFC to book him with the Nigerian slugger is by taking on Gane. While it's not the battle he is looking for, it would be the next best path that would allow him to lock horns with Ngannou for the third time.
Winner of Curtis Blaydes vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Blaydes and Rozenstruik square off at UFC 266. Blaydes is 8-2 in his last ten, and Rozenstruik's won two of his previous three and is 6-2 in the UFC. If the scenarios mentioned above don't happen for one reason or another, the winner of the fight at UFC 266 is a good backup.
The victor continues their solid run, and the fact Gane wants to take some time off for the birth of his first child, the timeline fits perfectly. An impressive performance from either guy puts them in the conversation.