Ciryl Gane explains why Tom Aspinall fight may not be next

Ciryl Gane has been working hard to stay in shape as he prepares for his next UFC outing.

Last time out, ‘Bon Gamin’ scored arguably the biggest win of his career when he knocked out the always-dangerous Alex Pereira to capture the UFC interim heavyweight title. The win has set the Frenchman up for a big rematch with Tom Aspinall to unify the titles, but that fight could be in jeopardy.

Tom Aspinall hasn’t enjoyed the best of times away from the octagon after suffering an eye poke at UFC 321 almost a year ago. After surgeries and recovery time, Aspinall is setting his sights on a return to competition, with Ciryl Gane the only man he wants to face.

Despite both fighters announcing their interest and fans also keen to see the pair run it back, the UFC has offered no guarantee of who Gane will lock horns with next.

“I don’t have a good answer for that,” Gane said regarding his UFC return. “Unfortunately, we ourselves aren’t even aware yet. That’s the reason why we are constantly training, because we can’t be caught off guard. We don’t want to be caught off guard again; it already happened against Jon Jones. We don’t want to be surprised anymore. That’s life.”

With no fight news on the horizon, Gane is staying ready. The 36-year-old is putting in work in the gym, hoping he gets the call about Tom Aspinall soon.

“Listen, we have experience to say there’s a strong probability that we’ll have this opponent, so we focus on him,” Gane continued. “And if it’s not him, it’ll probably be someone else anyway. We are uncertain, obviously, because we don’t know. We don’t know the outcome that there will be a rematch against Tom Aspinall.”

“We want it. We’re announcing it. The UFC’s talking about it with [my head coach] and Tom Aspinall. Even if tomorrow it will be someone else, it’s not a big deal.”

While all eyes are still on a rematch with Aspinall, Ciryl Gane remains open to the idea of fighting somebody else. If a second clash against the Brit doesn’t materialize, Gane would welcome an instant rematch with Brazilian favorite Alex Pereira.

“What I would like is either Tom Aspinall or potentially a rematch against Pereira.”

Listen to the translated version of Ciryl Gane’s interview with RMC Sport Combat below.