Ciryl Gane wasn’t too deterred while waiting for the UFC heavyweight title situation to sort itself out.
Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) returned from a more than one-year layoff to edge out Alexander Volkov at UFC 310 last December. With Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones spending a year in talks about a title-unification bout, Gane wasn’t sure if he’d have to fight again before re-entering the picture.
Jones ended up retiring and relinquishing his UFC heavyweight title in June, which allowed Gane to slide in and challenge Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for the belt in the UFC 321 headliner on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi. It all played out well for Gane, who never grew impatient.
“Not too much, but yeah, for sure, the division was a little bit on the stop, and now the discussion is better,” Gane told TNT Sports. “That’s why we got a fight with Tom. No, I was not frustrated. I got my experience. I already did one year without fighting because of COVID, because people don’t accept the fight. Every time we stay focused, we stay professional, and we trust the work of UFC. We just keep waiting at the gym, keep training, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Gane is 0-2 in undisputed heavyweight title fights but is confident that his past experiences have him ready for another big moment.
“All of that, the conference, the media, everything is heavy for the fighter,” Gane said. “I remember against Francis (Ngannou), it was so, so, so heavy. It was not easy. This is a good exercise because you must be prepared for that. This added a little bit more pressure. I remember for Jon Jones, it was easier, so I’m sure for the next one it’s going to be easy.”
A former interim heavyweight champion, Gane is a pretty big underdog against Aspinall and knows he has a formidable challenge ahead of him.
“Tom Aspinall is the new generation,” Gane said. “He’s a tough guy. He’s a really good fighter, well rounded. He’s a good fighter, I’m also a good fighter, so it’s going to be a beautiful matchup. He’s going to have his tactics, I’m going to have mine, so I can’t wait. I’m really excited for this challenge.”
