Tom Aspinall has finally got his opponent for the upcoming Manchester PPV event. Unfortunately, it’s not who the British fighter had expected. Aspinall recently shared a video on his YouTube channel where the interim champion talked about Ciryl Gane rejecting his fight offer.
In the video, Tom Aspinall mentioned that UFC initially wanted Ciryl Gane to fight him at UFC 304 in Manchester. According to Aspinall, Gane wanted to focus on his upcoming movie and rejected the opportunity for another title shot.
The UFC wanted me to fight Ciryl Gane, I said, ‘Okay, the UFC wanna do it, we can do it.’ I’m not bothered, I feel like I’m the champion of the world, I’m ranked No. 1 in the world, I’ll fight anybody….Ciryl is trying to be the French Arnold Schwarzenegger right now, and fair play to him. If he wants to do films and be an actor, go and enjoy yourself, Ciryl go and do your thing, make some money, do whatever you doing. But, he didn’t take the fight, he wanted to do his film
Tom Aspinall via YouTube
According to reports, ‘Bon Gamin’ will be busy this summer shooting for his upcoming Netflix movie. Recently, Conor McGregor made massive headlines with the movie Road House, which broke various records. With more and more fighters trying their luck in the film industry, it’s not surprising to see Gane doing the same.
On the other hand, Aspinall will defend his interim title against Curtis Blyades at UFC 304 in a rematch. The first time the pair met each other, Aspinall lost the fight due to a knee injury during the fight. It’s a great opportunity for the British to avenge the only loss in his UFC career. Aspinall initially wanted to fight Jon Jones for the title unification bout and even took this opportunity to diss the champion for his lack of activity in the division.
Jon Jones mocks Tom Aspinall for not getting a main event at UFC 304
Jon Jones’s last UFC bout was in 2023, where he beat Cyril Gane to become the heavyweight champion. He had to withdraw from his scheduled fight with Stipe Miocic due to a pectoral injury later that year. Now, Tom Aspinall has accused Jones of holding up the division by not accepting his challenge.
Jon Jones reacts to Tom Aspinall’s recent allegations (via LowKick MMA/New York Post)This has not sat well with the champion, as Jones has retaliated with a tweet on his X account. Jones labeled Aspinall as a troll and criticized him for not getting the main event spot at UFC 304.
Trolls telling me I’m slowing down the division by getting injured. Meanwhile, the next two heavyweights aren’t even a main event? interesting. I’m on the right path, I got until November to remind the world. Again.
Jon Jones via X
Trolls telling me I’m slowing down the division by getting injured. Meanwhile, the next two heavyweights aren’t even a main event? interesting. I’m on the right path, I got until November to remind the world. Again.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 17, 2024
Jones even mentioned that he will be back in action in November, and many fans expect it to be the heavyweight legacy fight with Stipe Miocic. Nevertheless, the drama surrounding the heavyweight division has definitely kept the fight fans entertained.
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