Tom Aspinall isn't taking his upcoming title fight against Ciryl Gane lightly. The Englishman recently shared his thoughts on the matchup and dismissed the narrative that the Frenchman was an easy opponent for him.
Aspinall and Gane are set to throw down in a heavyweight title fight in the main event of UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Given Aspinall's resume, a large portion of MMA fans believe that he's got this fight in the bag, and the Englishman has emerged as a massive betting favorite over Gane. However, Aspinall believes such narratives are "bullsh*t" and isn't paying them much attention.
During a media day scrum, Aspinall made it clear that he saw Gane as a dangerous opponent and said:
"I think there's this notion with the media and maybe the fans that Ciryl is not very good, which is just complete bullsh*t. I think that he's really, really good... He's been an interim champion himself. He's obviously had two title shots for the undisputed title, as well, so I think the guy is really good. I've took him extremely, extremely seriously. The fact that people expect it to be an easy fight, I don't read into that at all. I'm prepared for a really hard fight."
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Aspinall also responded to Gane vowing to take him into 'deep waters' for the first time in his career, and said:
"Did he actually use the words 'deep waters'? Everybody who said the words 'deep waters' gets knocked out in the first minute. Go back and check the media that you've done. So, I'm pretty happy with that. That's good." [H/t: MMA Junkie]
Watch the full interview below:
Tom Aspinall gets honest about next potential UFC heavyweight title challenger
Tom Aspinall recently shared his two cents on which UFC heavyweight should get the next title opportunity after the UFC 321 event. Apart from the Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane fight, Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida will also be throwing down in a heavyweight barnburner this weekend.
Aspinall believes that the winner of the Volkov-Almeida fight should face the winner of the UFC 321 main event clash for the heavyweight title next. During the media day scrum, the Englishman said:
"I don't know, whatever the UFC wants to do, [but] it's pretty obvious that they're going to do winner vs. winner of me vs Gane, and Volkov vs. Almeida. Not like a tag team match. The winner of us vs. the winner of them, that's what I think it's going to be next for the heavyweight title." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

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