Tom Aspinall accuses Ciryl Gane of "ducking" multiple top-ranked opponents, including interim title shot opportunity at MSG against Sergei Pavlovich

Tom Aspinall was able to claim the interim heavyweight title with a first-round knockout against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 last November. The No.1-ranked heavyweight recently claimed that he only received the opportunity to fight for the interim belt because Ciryl Gane turned it down.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, the interim heavyweight champion was asked how he would respond to being offered a matchup with 'Bon Gamin', stating:

"I'll take him out then... He's dismissed me on multiple occasions and I'm not the first guy that he's dismissed. I'm not the first guy that he's ducked. It's out there for people to see. The reason that I got the Pavlovich fight was because Ciryl didn't want it so he ducked Pavlovich. He then ducked Curtis Blaydes. Curtis Blaydes has been on record saying that."

Aspinall continued:

"I asked for him, years ago, didn't want it then. Then when I asked for him in Paris, they flew me over, we tried to make that fight. He didn't want it then. And we'll see what the UFC wants to do."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments on Ciryl Gane below:

Aspinall noted that while he likes Gane as a person, he doesn't like the way he does things professionally. While he is not a fan of the way the No.2-ranked heavyweight handles business, the interim heavyweight champion revealed that he would take the bout if he is offered 'Bon Gamin' as an opponent.

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Tom Aspinall reveals Stipe Miocic fight offer at UFC 300

Tom Aspinall has continued to angle for the opportunity to face either Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic in his return to the octagon. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the No.1-ranked heavyweight revealed that he was offered the opportunity to face the latter at UFC 300, stating:

"They asked me about Stipe, but not even officially. They were just like, 'what about fighting Stipe at 300?' I was like, 'yup, count me in.'... A couple of months ago, probably beginning of the year-ish, February, January, something like that... I was like, 'yeah, count me in', and then they were like, 'actually, no, he just wants to fight Jon'. I was like, 'okay, cool'."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments on being offered Stipe Miocic below:

While Aspinall has expressed an interest in either Jones or Miocic, both fighters and the UFC have revealed that the heavyweight title bout that was originally scheduled for UFC 295 will continue as planned. The interim heavyweight champion revealed that he was not offered any other opponent after the No.4-ranked heavyweight declined the bout.