Tom Aspinall is planning to defend his interim heavyweight title on July 27 when the UFC returns to Manchester. We don’t yet know who it will be against, but it looks like we can already rule out Ciryl Gane.
On Tuesday, rumors began circulating that ‘Bon Gamin’ had rejected an offer to challenge Aspinall at UFC 304 because he would be busy shooting a movie this summer. Aspinall seemingly confirmed the rumor by asking his followers if anyone knew which film the ex-title challenger was set to appear in.
“Does anyone know which film Ciryl is filming?” Aspinall questioned on X.
A report from TalkSport revealed that a source “with knowledge of the situation” confirmed Gane turned down the opportunity to fight Aspinall this summer due to filming commitments.
It’s not the first time Ciryl Gane has been accused of ducking a fight with Tom Aspinall
It’s not the first time that Gane has been accused of turning down a fight with the UK-based heavyweight.
“He’s dismissed me on multiple occasions, and I’m not the first guy he’s dismissed,” Aspinall said about Gane during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. I’m not the first guy that he’s ducked. It’s out there for people to see. The reason that I got the [Sergei] Pavlovich fight is because Ciryl didn’t want it. He ducked Pavlovich. He then ducked Curtis Blaydes. Curtis Blaydes has been on record saying that.
“I asked for him years ago. He didn’t want it then. Then I asked for him in Paris. They flew me over, we tried to make that fight. He didn’t want it then, and we’ll see what the UFC wants to do.”
Getting wind of Aspinall’s comments, Gane was quick to dispute the interim champ’s statement.
“Tom Aspinall, I never, ever say no to any challenge or any opponent,” Gane responded on social media. “Blaydes was never an option. They said Pavlovich, I said yes. Don’t worry, I’ll see you in September, stop tripping.”
The UFC is expected to return to Gane’s native France on September 28 for an event in Paris. Presumably, ‘Bon Gamin’ will be heavily featured on the card, but with the festivities going down a mere eight weeks after UFC 304, it’s unlikely that Tom Aspinall will be ready to go by then.
