“Not the first guy he’s ducked,” Tom Aspinall calls out former interim champ Ciryl Gane for ducking spree

Tom Aspinall gives Ciryl Gane a cold shoulder for ducking fights regularly.

“Not the first guy he’s ducked,” Tom Aspinall calls out former interim champ Ciryl Gane for ducking spree

Tom Aspinall speaks about Fighting Cyril Gane (via Imago)

Tom Aspinall hasn’t fought anybody in nearly five months since he became the interim UFC heavyweight champion. However, the heavyweight prospect has finally cleared the air around fighting the likes of Ciryl Gane and Curtis Blaydes.

 The Brit recently appeared on the MMA Hour show hosted by Ariel Helwani. During the conversation, the pair discussed the potential candidates Aspinall can fight in the future. Tom Aspinall mentioned Ciryl Gane and revealed how the Frenchman has a tendency to duck his opponents. 

I'll take him out then... He's dismissed me on multiple occasions and I'm not the first guy that he's dismissed. I'm not the first guy that he's ducked. It's out there for people to see. The reason that I got the Pavlovich fight was because Ciryl didn't want it so he ducked Pavlovich. He then ducked Curtis Blaydes. Curtis Blaydes has been on record saying that
Tom Aspinall via The MMA Hour
YouTube video

Gane’s last appearance inside the octagon was against Serghei Spivac in September. ‘Bon Gamin’ won the fight via KO and bounced back from his previous loss against Jon Jones. After the win, the fighter claimed he only wanted a title shot and didn’t want to settle for anything else. But it seems like it might have backfired the former title challenger.

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The UFC has previously given fans a heads-up that it will be making a PPV show return to England. Fighters like Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall are crucial for this. Eventually, Aspinall will have to choose who gets to fight next when the card gets closer.

Why did Ciryl Gane avoid the Tom Aspinall fight?

Ciryl Gane was considered one of the most talented heavyweight prospects ahead of his title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 285. However, the fighter underperformed and lost the bout in the very first round via submission.

Cyril Gane reveals his reasons for avoiding Tom Aspinall
Cyril Gane reveals his reasons for avoiding Tom Aspinall (via We Sport/YouTube)

However, after getting back in the UFC with a win, Gane didn’t want to risk his next title run. During an interview with The MMA Hour last year, the fighter talked about why didn’t fight Aspinall. 

I know a lot of people are talking about Aspinall, but this just doesn't make sense for me….I just want to go to the belt. I am No.1 contender, he is No.4. It just doesn't make sense to just want to go down. I did it already. It was a big risk against this wrestler.
Ciryl Gane via The MMA Hour

This didn’t sit well with Aspinall who back then blasted the fighter for being demanding and acting like an ‘entitled rich kid’. The whole scenario has come a long way since then, now Aspinall has crossed Gane as the number one ranked fighter and has the authority to call the shots.

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