Francis Ngannou isn’t France’s only resident MMA beast on the UFC roster. Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 14, a rising French heavyweight will look to follow in the footsteps of his close friend.

Training under the watch of MMA Factory head coach Fernand Lopez, Ciryl Gane (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his UFC debut against fellow undefeated newcomer Raphael Pessoa (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 14, which takes place at Antel Arena in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. The card streams on ESPN+.

Throughout the years, Gane has sparred with Ngannou at the MMA Factory. This has provided Gane with invaluable experience in his lightning-quick ascent up the MMA ladder, according to the Frenchman.

“Francis is one of the best out there,” Gane told MMA Junkie. “He’s ranked No. 1, and he’s almost there to the belt again. To spar and exchange with a guy like that, it always gives you some confidence to know your level, to know where you are in the MMA sport.

“At first, when I chose to come, it was for the reputation of the MMA Factory, (and) also because I knew I would have the great sparring there – even for the muay Thai. I was actually hoping to get into the top organization in kickboxing, GLORY. Finally, I ended up training there and I had great leadership with Fernand Lopez and all the staff in the MMA Factory. It’s easy to develop your quality and skills there because there’s almost everything. You can have conditioning, the mental training – everything in that facility.”

😳 Ciryl Gane is someone to keep your eye on! He remains your #TKOMMA heavyweight champ! #TKO44 pic.twitter.com/24g7EXd086 — UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 22, 2018

When the UFC didn’t elect to sign Gane following his third victory, the 28-year-old fighter signed with GLORY Kickboxing instead. When the UFC offer came, Gane was faced with a tough choice.

“I got signed by GLORY right before the offer from the UFC,” Gane said. “My management had contacted the UFC after the first fight of me having the title in TKO. (Matchmaker) Mick (Maynard) told my management they had their eyes on me and to keep him posted if there was something new. By then, GLORY signed me for four fights, including a title shot against Rico Verhoeven.”

“We had a choice to make and I said to Ciryl, ‘It’s very hard to do two things together,”’ Lopez, Gane’s coach and manager, said. “The best thing was for Ciryl to retire from kickboxing and get out of the contract – for now. Who knows? Something may change. If GLORY comes with something big, then he will go back there. But at the time we had that contract, and then we got out of the contract.”

Standing across the cage from Gane will be Brazil’s Pessoa. Despite the two men living across an ocean, they are well-acquainted. The pair of heavyweights were supposed to square off earlier this year, but an injury to Pessoa forced him out of the bout. The rebooking wasn’t a coincidence. According to Gane, the UFC matchmakers were desperate to find a fighter who would sign on to fight him.

“The matchmakers had to go to seven people to find someone to fight me on the roster,” Gane said. “There wasn’t anyone ready to give me that chance to fight me. I guess because I don’t have a big name yet, they didn’t see any interest to fight me. Anyway, there were seven people who turned back the contract from the UFC.

“At this point, the UFC had to hire someone to face me on that card in Uruguay. It’s not that bad because I don’t have that much experience. I think it’s good that he doesn’t have the UFC experience like I don’t have so we will have time to grow together and take it step by step.”

With France’s MMA legalization set to be put into place in January, Gane dreams of competing in his home country’s first major event. However, the 6-foot-5, 244-pound fighter wants to share the spotlight.

“There aren’t a lot of French guys on the roster in the UFC,” Gane said. “Right now, it would be an honor for me to represent my country in my hometown. That would be amazing.

“Also, I think there’s someone the UFC needs to sign back. That’s Taylor Lapilus, my teammate. He was in the UFC for four fights and only lost one in a decision in Mexico. This guy is amazing and he’s now the champion in TKO. He’s the double champion in Germany. I think the guy is ready to go back in the UFC. So, I’ll be preparing for when the UFC comes to Paris so I can be on the same card.”