Wolves' Rudy Gobert Trains with Former UFC Champ Ciryl Gane in Boxing Video, Photo

Minnesota Timberwolves star center Rudy Gobert appears to be adding some new skills to his repertoire off the court.

On Monday, the MMA Factory in Paris posted a picture and a video of Gobert doing some sparring against former interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane:

Gobert first posted footage of his boxing training on social media in 2018 and explained to Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News that the sport was his original love before he began focusing on basketball. He said he took his sessions with local trainer Matt Peña seriously because they helped him sharpen his skills in the ring and on the court.

"He doesn't train me just to do cardio or like the Instagram models do," Gobert said at the time. "It's really like he's teaching me to use my reach and how to defend against guys in different ways they will go at me. The footwork, the skills … so yeah, it's really great to learn some different stuff."

However, Gobert didn't limit his training to boxing. In 2020, he revealed that he began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under French black belt Samuel Monin in a now-deleted video on Instagram. According to BJJEE.com, Monin is a multiple IBJJF medalist, third-degree black belt and former goalkeeper for AS Monaco FC.

Despite tying an NBA record with his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award this past season, Gobert came under fire for his performance in the playoffs after he was exploited by the Dallas Mavericks as the Timberwolves went on to lose the Western Conference Finals in five games.

Perhaps Gobert's MMA training will help him fare better as the Timberwolves gear up to chase an NBA title once again during the 2024-25 campaign.