On Jan. 1, 2020, France legalized professional and amateur mixed martial arts bouts. Two years later, the UFC will finally make its Parisian debut in the Accor Arena for UFC Paris: Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa.

Five of the 12 fights showcase French fighters, including the former interim heavyweight champion.

Coming off his first career loss to heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, Gane (10-1) looks to redeem himself with a win over No. 3-ranked contender Tuivasa.

Tuivasa is riding an impressive five-fight win streak and has not lost a bout since facing Sergey Spivak in 2019. Despite his remarkable performances, Tuivasa is the most significant underdog on the fight card at +425.

Another exciting matchup to keep an eye on at UFC Paris includes top middleweight contenders Robert Whittaker (23-6) vs. Marvin Vettori (18-4). This fight has large implications for the middleweight division, as former champion Whittaker is the No.

1-ranked contender and Vettori is the No. 2-ranked contender (tied with Jared Cannonier). Also, make sure to catch Alessio Di Chirico vs. Roman Kopylov in their battle to climb up the middleweight rankings.

When top-five heavyweights Cyril Gane and Tai Tuivasa square off in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card in Paris, what might be lost in the fanfare of the promotion’s debut card in France (along with its main event homecoming) is just how important this five-round bout is for the division.

If one is searching for a word to describe the heavyweight title picture at the moment, the words exciting and deep must also be paired with the likes of confusing, crowded, uncertain and bottlenecked.

UFC president Dana White summed it up best when he spoke to the Las Vegas media following Tuesday night’s “Contender Series” card about who would be fighting next for the undisputed (and/or interim) belt.

“First of all, I don’t make a fight before the fight. Anything is possible,” White said. “We don’t know how any of this is going to play out because the heavyweight champ is still hurt anyway.”

White’s reference was to Francis Ngannou (17-3) who continues to recover from the major March knee injury (ACL reconstruction and MCL repair) he suffered before and during his January decision win over Gane (10-1), then the UFC’s interim champion.

The biggest unknown surrounding the 35-year-old Ngannou’s eventual return (which includes a timeframe that is equally unknown) is whether the free agent will officially decide to re-sign with the promotion after previously claiming he wouldn’t unless given freedom to fight heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.

Adding to that confusion is the same unknown about when and if former 205-pound king Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) will make his long-threatened heavyweight debut (and what that would mean for former champion Stipe Miocic’s potential return).

Remember, no one said this was going to be easy to predict or comprehend. So what does that exactly mean for the winner of Gane and Tuivasa? Despite the volatility of the moment, really big things, according to White, when asked whether this is a de facto No. 1 contender’s match.

WATCH: Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa nearly stop each other repeatedly. One of the best rounds you'll see all year #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/HEIrHGaccg

— Shakiel Mahjouri (@Shak_Fu) September 3, 2022

TUIVASA DROPS GANE HARD IN R2 BUT HE SURVIVES #UFCParispic.twitter.com/vuChOhO0fY

— Champion Picks (@ChampionPicks) September 3, 2022

THE HOMETOWN HERO JUST TORE THE ROOF OFF THE @ACCOR_ARENA!!!! 🇫🇷

[ @Ciryl_Gane | #UFCParis ] pic.twitter.com/8jTZ5ndYqa

— UFC (@ufc) September 3, 2022

CYRIL GANE JUST KNOCKED OUT TAI TUIVASA IN FRONT OF HIS HOMETOWN #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/Aap12Kn7qv

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) September 3, 2022