Ciryl Gane clarified that he did not intend to call Tom Aspinall mentally fragile after the British heavyweight struggled with his recovery process following their previous bout.
Clarifying the Comments
Their heavyweight championship matchup at UFC 321 last October resulted in a no contest after an accidental eye poke rendered Aspinall unable to continue. Aspinall subsequently underwent multiple surgeries and vacated the UFC heavyweight title.
During a French interview with “ZACK,” Gane initially described Aspinall as mentally fragile, though he quickly walked back the statement and admitted the term was too strong. Speaking at the UFC 334 media day, sports.yahoo.com reported that Gane explained the conversation centered on how his team prepared for Aspinall and how Aspinall handled the situation emotionally.
“The good word was emotional, he was not fragile. Fragile wasn’t a good word,” Gane stated, adding that Aspinall managed the aftermath with a lot of emotions and tried to prove things to the public.
Looking Ahead to a Rematch
When asked if defeating Aspinall is necessary for him to feel like a true undisputed champion, Gane confirmed that it is. He stated that he hopes for Aspinall’s swift recovery so they can schedule a guaranteed rematch that everyone wants to see.
Gane became the undisputed champion after securing the interim belt by defeating Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 in June. While he initially anticipated a quick rematch with Aspinall, the delays led to Gane making his first title defense against Josh Hokit in the main event of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“We were waiting for Tom Aspinall, unfortunately, so I hope for him a speedy recovery, but we were waiting for him – we fought in October, I thought it was possible to do it again November, after that Christmas or maybe January,” Gane explained.
