"Right now, he's being an actor" - Tom Aspinall on whether he'll watch the movie Ciryl Gane is set to feature in
Tom Aspinall recently addressed whether he intends to watch the movie in which Ciryl Gane is set to appear. Aspinall had previously asserted that there were talks of him defending his interim UFC heavyweight title against Gane. However, the Frenchman opted out of the bout in favor of an acting opportunity.
Aspinall is now set to make his first title defense in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes, scheduled as the co-main event of UFC 304, which will take place at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England.
Aspinall and Blaydes previously clashed at UFC London in July 2022. However, the outcome was overshadowed by the Brit's TKO loss due to an unexpected knee injury just 15 seconds into the bout.
During a recent interview with The Mac Life, Aspinall remarked that 'Bon Gamin' has had numerous chances to compete against him and jokingly teased Gane about his reported commitment to filming a movie:
"Right now, he’s being an actor, and I wish him all the best in that. … I do wish him luck with it. No, I probably won't watch it. No hard feelings against Ciryl. I’m not trying to throw him under the bus or anything. I respect him. I respect what he’s doing."
Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below (3:40):
After his title fight defeat to Jon Jones at UFC 285, Gane bounced back with a second-round TKO victory over Serghei Spivac at UFC Paris last September. 'Bon Gamin' has tallied two victories and suffered two losses in his past four fights.
Tom Aspinall addresses speculation of Ciryl Gane possibly avoiding a fight against him
Tom Aspinall had previously asserted that his matchup against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 last November only materialized because Ciryl Gane declined the opportunity to face the Russian. Aspinall also accused 'Bon Gamin' of rejecting fights not only with himself but also with Curtis Blaydes.
During the same interview with The Mac Life, the reigning interim heavyweight titleholder was asked whether he believes Gane is avoiding a fight against him. Aspinall responded:
"Maybe a bit, I don’t know. It’s difficult to say like, if he’s getting loads – I don’t know what his aspirations are. He might really want to be an actor. That might be his thing. So he’s thinking, 'F**k this MMA stuff. I’m going to go and be the French Arnold Schwarzenegger here. I’m going to crack on with that.' Fair play to Ciryl, though. Good luck to him. I’ve got nothing against Ciryl. [2:52]