Sorry Ciryl Gane! Go Fight Jailton Almeida
Sorry, Mr. Gane, go fight the scary Brazilian.
Tom Aspinall became the UFC interim Heavyweight champion last night at UFC 295 (Sat., Nov. 11, 2023) when he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in under two minutes from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City (watch highlights). Aspinall became the third British fighter to hold UFC gold.
Aspinall’s knockout win was phenomenal; however, it became that much more impressive because he was injured going into the fight.
“This is an exclusive for you [Laura] Sanko. I actually pulled my back and didn’t really train at all,” Aspinall told UFC’s Laura Sanko after his win. “Honestly. I injured it on the first week after I found out about the fight…I have not been able to train for the last week and a half. I didn’t have any training camp – I had about five days. I didn’t have a visa, and I was unsure if I could get here. It was the wildest two weeks ever; everything was going wrong.”
Wow!! @AspinallMMA told me after the fight that he injured his back and as a result wasn’t able to train for the last 10 days. I asked him when he knew he’d be able to fight and he said “tonight.” Really puts into even greater context what he accomplished! Congrats champ … pic.twitter.com/w5wdjZjBMc
— Laura Sanko (@laura_sanko) November 12, 2023
Immediately after his win at UFC 295, No. 1 ranked Heavyweight Ciryl Gane called him out on Twitter.
“Congratulations, Tom. You are now the champion and become the one being pursued, and I am the hunter. See you soon,” Gane wrote.
Aspinall was asked about the French fighter’s challenge and brushed it off.
“Oh, that’s interesting,” Aspinall told the media during the UFC 295 post-fight press conference. “I just called him out, went to France, and he turned the fight down. I think he should fight [Jailton] Almeda. I think them guys should fight each other first and see what happens.”
Gane is coming off a dominant main event win over Sergey Spivak in Paris, while Almeida is coming off a five-round snooze-fest over Derrick Lewis.
With the Heavyweight division in shambles at the moment because Jon Jones is injured and will fight Stipe Miocic when he returns, it is unclear if Aspinall will defend the interim title or wait to see what happens.
One thing seems inevitable: Gane isn’t getting a shot at Aspinall.
For complete UFC 295 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
https://www.mmamania.com/2023/11/12/23957466/injured-tom-aspinall-shrugs-off-ciryl-gane-callout-i-think-he-should-fight-jailton-almeida