Arguably, the biggest problem in MMA finally has some clarity. Ciryl Gane will make his first walk to the octagon as champion against controversial contender Josh Hokit.
Gane never won undisputed gold in the cage, though; he won it because of a foul he committed. In 2025, at UFC 321, Gane challenged for the heavyweight title for the third time in his career; in the fight against Aspinall, he was winning the first few minutes.
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However, despite having a great start as a big underdog, Gane committed an egregious foul, poking both of Aspinall’s eyes, and ended the fight. Since the foul, Aspinall has undergone multiple eye surgeries and faced setbacks along the way.
Now with Aspinall’s career on hold for the foreseeable future, Gane reigns over the heavyweight division. Gane was interviewed in France after his next fight was announced. It’s safe to say he has a much different stance on the Aspinall situation than the public.
Ciryl Gane questions how serious Aspinall’s injury is
MMA: UFC Fight Night Tybura vs Parkin
Mar 22, 2025; London, England, United Kingdom; Tom Aspinall, UFC Heavyweight fighter, watches as Marcin Tybura (red gloves) fights against Mick Parkin. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)
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In an interview with ZackNaniTV, Gane was asked about Aspinall and how the eye-poke situation played out from his point of view. Gane wasn’t gracious to Aspinall; in fact, he even called him “mentally fragile.”
Here are a few quotes from Gane on Aspinall.
“We knew he was fragile mentally. We had guessed it, we suspected it.”
“The guy complains a bit too much. You got poked in the eyes, you have a right to stop. If you feel pain, there’s an issue. There’s no need to do all that you did in terms of communication because it worked against you in the end.”
“We saw the fingers, there’s no need to do all that you did.”
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This comes off as extremely tone-deaf and arrogant from Gane. Sitting there acting like what he did to Aspinall can compare to other eye pokes is absurd. Gane essentially gauged Aspinall’s eyes and used three fingers.
MORE: Former UFC champion doesn’t believe Tom Aspinall should fight again
The end of Gane’s quote is the most absurd part, saying, “there’s no need to do all that you did.” No one in the history of combat sports would simply choose to get double eye surgeries, even multiple on one eye, just to make a point or sell that he’s actually hurt.
Not only is Aspinall’s career on the line, but if something goes wrong or another setback happens, he could lose vision in one eye entirely. Aspinall even signed to fight Gane at UFC 334 before suffering another setback from sparring.
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These comments should only further build up a rematch between Gane and Aspinall. If that fight does happen, which is a big if, this now becomes a top rivalry in the sport.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
