Ciryl Gane isn’t interested in fighting Tom Aspinall for his next Octagon appearance.
In March of this year, Gane suffered a first-round submission loss against Jon Jones for the vacant UFC heavyweight title. The quick defeat was a massive setback for ‘Bon Gamin,’ but he returned to training and began the road back to a world championship bout.
On September 2, the Frenchman bounced back with a second-round TKO win against Serghei Spivac in the UFC Paris main event.
Gane now finds himself in a weird spot in the heavyweight division. He’s currently ranked number one, but there’s a low chance the UFC wants him to rematch Jones anytime soon.
Therefore, most fans and analysts believe Gane should be matched up against Sergei Pavlovich, Curtis Blaydes, or Tom Aspinall.
During a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Gane was asked who he wants to fight next. ‘Bon Gamin’ responded by saying:
“I know a lot of people talk about [Tom] Aspinall, but this doesn’t make sense for me. Every time with my management, they did a really great job all my career, that’s why it was really so fast. Now I just wanna go to the belt. I’m number one contender, he’s number four. This doesn’t make sense. I just want to go [up] now. I did it already, and it was a big risk against this wrestler…I want to take a risk for something big.”
Watch Ciryl Gane discuss his opinion on a potential fight against Tom Aspinall below:
"I’m No. 1 contender, he’s No. 4. This doesn’t make sense."
Ciryl Gane says a fight with Tom Aspinall "is going to come," but now is not the time 👀 #TheMMAHour
▶️ https://t.co/XRIuAc6UjQ pic.twitter.com/RbxNNBxeVy
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) September 18, 2023
Ciryl Gane guarantees fans he will fight Tom Aspinall in the future
Ciryl Gane made his professional MMA debut in August 2018 and quickly rose to the top of the UFC heavyweight division. Therefore, the 33-year-old doesn’t have much wear and tear, which could mean he has plenty of years left of fighting.
During the same interview on The MMA Hour, Gane had this to say about fans who are disappointed he doesn’t want to fight Tom Aspinall next:
“I’m still here for a long time, so we’re gonna have time with a Tom Aspinal. For sure, it’s gonna come. So, no worries for the people, we’re gonna do this fight, but now my fight is not this one. I just want the belt, and I wanna go to the belt.”
In August 2021, Ciryl Gane defeated Derrick Lewis to become the interim UFC heavyweight champion. Five months later, Francis Ngannou returned and defeated ‘Bon Gamin’ before the latter could defend his title or upgrade the gold.
Only time will tell if Gane can solidify his name in UFC heavyweight history by becoming the undisputed world champion.
Watch Ciryl Gane’s interview on The MMA Hour below:
