After his impressive comeback victory at UFC London, heavyweight Tom Aspinall strategically called out the winner of UFC Paris’s main event, Ciryl Gane vs. Serghei Spivak. However, upon further consideration, he acknowledged that his approach might need some adjustments. Aspinall expressed his interest in facing the victor of the Gane vs. Spivak bout, set to headline UFC Paris in September.
But a potential hurdle arises: Aspinall has already proven his superiority over Spivak with a dominant first-round TKO in 2021, leaving no doubt about the outcome of their previous encounter. Despite sharing the same first name, there’s another UFC heavyweight, Sergei Pavlovich, who could potentially offer a more enticing option for Tom Aspinall’s legacy and title aspirations.
However, there are specific reasons why the British heavyweight chose not to pursue that particular matchup.
Tom Aspinall blames Michael Bisping for rookie callout
“I mean, it would be good to save it for a title, as well, because I’m pretty sure that we’re going fight for it a couple of times,” Aspinall said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I think it’s not gonna be a one-and-done.
“Also, I’m going to partially put the blame on Michael Bisping for this one, because Michael Bisping told me that you should always try and fight the guy who just fought for a title and lost it. That’s what the people want to see because he’s like the next best in line. So I thought Ciryl Gane just fought for the title and lost it. If he wins. That would be perfect.”
Certainly, a less-than-ideal situation would arise if Spivak managed to upset the former interim champ, Gane, leading to an unexpected matchup that no one had anticipated. Tom Aspinall found it challenging to articulate his thoughts on such a scenario.
Currently at the peak of his career and successfully recovering from a devastating injury layoff, Aspinall sees value in expanding his endeavors beyond the octagon. He believes that aligning himself with up-and-coming fighters on the European event circuit would be a strategic and intelligent move to further his career and aspirations.
Gene responds to Aspinall callout
Aspinall’s bold and confident articulation of his plans unsurprisingly didn’t sit well with some involved parties. Both Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane swiftly reacted to the British fighter’s interview on Twitter, but their responses were quite different. Jones responded politely and appeared open to the idea, while Gane took a more provocative approach, cautioning Aspinall to be mindful of what he wished for.
Great performance Tom, careful what you wish for.
See you in Paris 😉
— Ciryl Gane (@ciryl_gane) July 22, 2023
Following his victory over Marcin Tybura, Tom Aspinall (13-3) rebounded from his initial UFC loss, which occurred in July of the previous year, where he suffered a TKO due to injury just 15 seconds into his bout against Curtis Blaydes.
Prior to that setback, the 30-year-old had showcased an outstanding five-fight win streak in the Octagon, with each victory resulting in a finish. Throughout this remarkable run, Tom Aspinall achieved wins over notable names in the division, including Alexander Volkov, Sergey Spivak, and former champion Andrei Arlovski.
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