Aspinall Calls Out Gane's Illegal Shots After White House Performance

Tom Aspinall watched Ciryl Gane stop Alex Pereira on Sunday night and came away with the same opinion he has always held.

The undisputed heavyweight champion, still sidelined after the eye injury suffered in their no-contest at UFC 321 last October, observed Gane's interim title performance from the outside and had no shortage of thoughts on what he saw. None of them involved revising his assessment of the man he will eventually have to fight.

"It looked like there was a lot of illegal elbows going on, illegal punches, but generally, he looked good," Aspinall said.

Aspinall has called Gane a cheater consistently since the accidental eye pokes that ended their first fight and required surgery to address bilateral Brown's syndrome in both eyes.

Aspinall holds the undisputed belt and the unresolved grievance of a fight that never reached a conclusion. Gane now holds the interim title following a performance that will make the broader sport sit up and pay attention to his capabilities at heavyweight. The unification fight is the obvious next step — and both men know it.

On the prospect of meeting in Paris in September, Aspinall was characteristically direct.

"Paris in September, right? I'll do that. Yeah, I'll do that. Let me know. I don't mind. I'll go to Paris. Let me know,” Aspinall

Manager Eddie Hearn has been publicly insisting that Aspinall will not fight under his current UFC contract, and the dispute over pay for the unification bout has been running in the background for months.

Aspinall appearing to accept a September date in Paris without caveat either reflects confidence that the contract situation will be resolved or a deliberate choice to signal his availability while leaving the financial negotiations to Hearn.

Aspinall is the undisputed champion with an axe to grind. The fight is there to be made and Aspinall is ready.