Ciryl Gane revealed he was game to fight Tom Aspinall earlier this year.
UFC interim heavyweight champion Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) claimed Gane turned him down for a title fight at UFC 304 in July. The Brit wound up facing Curtis Blaydes instead, stopping him by Round 1 TKO to retain his belt.
Fernand Lopez confirmed Gane (12-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) did indeed turn Aspinall down for UFC 304, but only because he had already committed to filming a movie with Netflix – something the UFC was well aware of. Gane, however, says there was no fight offer for September, and that Aspinall in fact turned him down for a fight in March.
“Yeah, yeah, of course, for March – but it was not possible. He said I refused him in September, but the UFC didn’t propose me any contract with him (for then),” Gane said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.”
“Like I’ve said, I’m looking for the best for me and every time is in front of me, and this is exactly what he’s doing now – just looking in front of him. I didn’t (call him out) on the social media, but the UFC knew this is a fight that we’re looking for.”
Gane thinks a fight with Aspinall down the line is inevitable, but first, he has to get through Alexander Volkov (38-10 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 310 (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+) main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Aspinall is gunning for a title-unification bout with heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who would rather face light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Gane sees Aspinall being a bigger threat to Jones than “Poatan.”
“Every time we see for the fight against Stipe (Miocic), everything was possible because Stipe is a really great fighter, really well-rounded, but he proved it another time,” Gane said of Jones. “He’s so dangerous. He’s capable of changing. He can do (anything he) wants.
“So even if you have a guy really good in his striking or the wrestling, he can manage this. Maybe I’m going to say Tom because he’s more well-rounded. When you have a guy like Alex Pereira, he’s so dangerous on the striking, so everything is possible. It’s too hard to have a good answer.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
