CIRYL GANE has warned Francis Ngannou he's 'improved' immensely since their days sparring at the MMA Factory in Paris.
Bon Gamin will look to end his former training partner's reign as heavyweight champion early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 270 in Anaheim, California.
Both men have a great understanding of the other's strengths and weaknesses as a result of their sparring under Fernand Lopez, although Gane believes he's come on leaps and bounds since those days.
The 31-year-old told SunSport: "I think this time we've improved, 100 per cent."
The undefeated Gane was just a heavyweight prospect when he was trading blows with Ngannou in the old MMA Factory facility.
And he admits hanging with the Cameroonian so early into his career was a source of great confidence.
He said: "At this time, the feeling was, 'I was really lucky' because I had just started in MMA and I can spar with a guy who was already in the top-five."
Although Gane has fond memories of his time sharpening his tools with his old training partner, he's all too aware of the improvements the UFC's first African-born heavyweight champion has made.
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That being said, the Frenchman believes he himself is a completely different fighter to the one Ngannou worked with all those years ago.
The former TKO heavyweight champion said: "We have improved a lot – on my part and his part.
"So I think today, it's going to be a bit different. But this has helped me to have a little more confidence."
UFC 270 card
Francis Ngannou vs Ciryl Gane (heavyweight title unification fight)
Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson Figueiredo (men's flyweight title fight)
Michel Pereira vs Andre Fialho (welterweight bout)
Cody Stamann vs Said Nurmagomedov (bantamweight bout)
Rodolfo Vieira vs Wellington Turman (middleweight bout)
Prelims
Raoni Barcelos vs Victor Henry (men's bantamweight bout)
Ilia Topuria vs Charles Jourdain (men's featherweight bout)
Jack Della Maddalena vs Pete Rodriguez (welterweight bout)
Fight Pass Prelims
Tony Graveley vs Saimon Oliveira (men's bantamweight bout)
Trevin Giles vs Michael Morales (welterweight bout)
Silvana Gomez Juaraz vs Vaness Dempoulos (women's strawweight bout)
Matt Frevola vs Genaro Valdez (lightweight bout)
Kay Hansen vs Jasmine Jasudavicius (women's flyweight bout)
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