"You can't afford to wait" - Tom Aspinall points out why Serghei Spivac's gameplan against Ciryl Gane backfired terribly at UFC Paris
Top heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane has been having a rough patch in his UFC career lately. However, earlier this weekend, at UFC Fight Night 226, the French national turned his fortune around with a second-round TKO win against surging contender Sergey Spivak.
Gane's performance seems to have impressed fellow heavyweight Tom Aspinall. But the Brit believes Spivak did a massive miscalculation going into the fight. During a recent interview with TheMacLife, Aspinall opined that the Moldovan should've employed a grappling-heavy approach against Gane early on:
"I think Sergey's plan was [since it was a] five-round fight, he was planning on taking him down later in the fight. But heavyweight MMA, I'm sick of saying it myself, but it's right, massive guys, tiny gloves mate."
He added:
"Few shots to the dome, [a] few shots to the body [and it's over]. Doesn't matter, you can't afford to wait late on because they just start wearing you out man. So probably wrong gameplan on his part."
Catch Tom Aspinall's comments on Ciryl Gane vs. Sergey Spivak below (0:47):
Aspinall added that although he would like to take on Gane in his next outing if that matchup doesn't materialize, he would happily share the cage with the No.1 contender Sergei Pavlovich.
Ciryl Gane vs. Serghei Spivac: 'Bon Gamin' reiterates his plans for another title run
Although he came up short in his last two title fights, Ciryl Gane has no plans to back down and hopes to earn another crack at the belt.
During the post-fight interview after his statement win over Sergey Spivak, the Frenchman proclaimed that the UFC title is his sole "mission" going forward:
"Today, my mission was to prove I'm still here, so let's go to the belt now... You know what my mission, whoever it is [that I fight next, is] to go forward. I failed in getting the belt. So my mission is to get the belt, and that's what I'm going to do going forward."
Catch Ciryl Gane's comments below (2:52):
'Bon Gamin' is 12-2 as a professional mixed martial artist, with wins against top contenders including Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis. The Frenchman might need a few high-profile wins to thrust him back to title contention, given his past two abysmal title fights.