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Gane got game? UFC champ gets buckets on NBA star Rudy Gobert | Video
Watch interim UFC champ Ciryl Gane go 1 on 1 with Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert
byAnton Tabuena
Aug 3, 2026, 8:40 PM UTC
NBAE via Getty Images
Anton TabuenaAnton Tabuena is a journalist for MMA Mania. He has been covering combat sports since 2009, and is the former managing editor of Bloody Elbow. He has fought professionally in Muay Thai, and has amateur bouts in MMA, kickboxing and BJJ.
Not many NBA stars can fight, but how many UFC fighters can play ball?
Interim UFC Heavyweight champion, Ciryl Gane — coming off a technical knockout win over Alex Pereira — showed off his basketball skills on social media
Gane didn’t just go against any Average Joe, either. On the contrary, UFC’s two-time title holder went 1-on-1 with four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert. Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans are used to seeing the 6’4” Gane tower over his Heavyweight foes, but he was completely dwarfed by the Minnesota Timberwolves center in this playful session
He did show some decent skills, though
Watch Gane get a couple of buckets, including a pretty smooth looking step-back three over the 7’1” NBA star:
Crossing over to other sports isn’t easy even for high-level athletes, whether it’s NBA vets Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson fighting each other, or Gane’s former opponent in Jon Jones embarrassing himself in this classic video with five-time All Star Al Horford:
Gane and Gobert are popular French athletes and friends, who have trained together in the past. They sparred one year ago, with the UFC star helping Gobert with his boxing
Gane’s next fight is expected to be a Heavyweight title unification rematch against one-eyed division champion, Tom Aspinall, later this year; however, an official date has not yet been locked in (details here)
Unless, of course, Dana White and Co. decide to go in a different direction
Anything is possible
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.
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