Athletes
Tom Aspinall Wears The Crown With Ease
Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall Is Keen To Prove Himself As The Best In The World Against Ciryl Gane At UFC 321 In Abu Dhabi
One of the best things a fighter can have is a bit of mystery around them. Whether it is questions about their skills, their life or their ceiling as an athlete, the existence of question marks means people are curious about them. Curiosity means people are watching, and when you’re the heavyweight champion of the world, curiosity creates a different kind of buzz any time they’re booked for a fight.
Tom Aspinall isn’t new to that kind of attention, even though his fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 represents his first fight as the undisputed champion. The 32-year-old headlined three of his last five fights (the other two were still championship co-main events), each of them coming in England where he is the center of the country’s attention. That’s all to say: all the responsibilities on Aspinall’s plate in Abu Dhabi are par for the course.
Order UFC 321: Aspinall vs Gane
“This is what you want,” Aspinall told UFC.com. “You want people to be invested and interested and want to hear from you. Otherwise, you’re not doing a very good job. I’m winning and winning well. Everything is going good, so people want to speak to me. It’s part of the job.”
The main part of the job, however, remains in the Octagon. Aspinall hasn’t stepped foot inside the cage since last July when he sparked Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds to defend the interim belt, his seventh first-round finish in nine fights. Since then, he was forced to wait as former champion Jon Jones pondered his future, which eventually led “Bones” to retirement and Aspinall to undisputed champion.
With that waiting game in the rear-view mirror, Aspinall was finally able to turn the screws on a proper training camp. It’s cliché for a fighter to say they are better than ever ahead of their next fight, but Aspinall is particularly proud of his work over the last couple months. From nutrition and recovery to daily training under the tutelage of his father, Andy, and alongside high-level mixed martial artists like Modestas Bukauskas, Ante Delija and Phil De Fries, Aspinall left no stone unturned in this camp.
“I’ve made some big, big improvements in my game,” Aspinall said. “I look forward to testing that out in a live-combat situation.”
WATCH: UFC 321 Countdown | Tom Aspinall: Road To Undisputed | The Documentary
Aspinall will have his hands full with Gane, the former interim champion who has been a mainstay at the top of the division for the last half-decade. The Frenchman fought for undisputed gold twice, falling short to Jones and Francis Ngannou, but he remains one of the best heavyweights to step into the Octagon.
Fleet of foot with sharp kickboxing acumen, Gane had just three professional MMA bouts on his record before joining the roster in August 2019. His ascent was quick, as is often the case for heavyweights with a high ceiling, facing former champion Junior dos Santos in just his fourth UFC bout. He put together a six-fight winning streak to earn an interim title shot against Derrick Lewis and cruised to a TKO over UFC’s knockout king.
After losing to Jones in March 2023, Gane fought once more that year and only one time in 2024, picking up wins over Serghei Spivac and Alexander Volkov (his second win over the Russian). The latter left many underwhelmed, including Gane. However, the win cemented him as the top contender, and Aspinall understands he is in for a unique challenge on October 25.
UFC 321 Full Fight Card Preview
“I think there’s a lot of people overlooking him, and I think it’s unfair,” Aspinall said. “I think a lot of it comes from his last performance where it was a questionable decision, but that’s nothing to do with him or me. I know he’s a very good fighter. He’s been around the top level for a long time, same as me. He’s very good. I’m sure he’s bringing his best this time. I’m bringing my best, and let’s see who wins.”
The champion is particularly complimentary of the challenger’s defense. Gane absorbs just 2.23 strikes per minute, which ranks third among active heavyweights (the first two are grappling-heavy fighters Jailton Almeida and Curtis Blaydes). Gane also boasts the best significant strike defense among active heavyweights at 61.9 percent.
What those numbers mean is Aspinall will have to exhibit patience, which could mean going beyond the first round for just the second time in the Octagon. Aspinall has wondered aloud what it’d feel like to stretch himself beyond the first six minutes of a contest, but nobody has yet pushed him beyond that threshold.
Coach Conversation | Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane
The Atherton-representative believes Saturday’s main event will feature speed and techniques previously unseen in the division, and ultimately, his hand raised with the belt wrapped around his waist once again.
“I’m the best heavyweight in the world,” he said. “I think that I am, and I just got to keep showing it.”
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