I fought Jon Jones – and Tom Aspinall has a better chance against him than Alex Pereira
Ciryl Gane has named one reason why Tom Aspinall is more likely to beat Jon Jones than Alex Pereira. Gane is the No.2 ranked heavyweight in Dana White’s promotion and his only two professional MMA losses have come against UFC icons Jones and Francis Ngannou. Ciryl Gane is one of the UFC’s best heavyweightsAFP But lost his last title fight against Jones via first-round submissionGetty Images - Getty He returns to action this weekend at UFC 310 against Alexander Volkov in the pair’s rematch to decide who will contest either Jones or Aspinall for the unified heavyweight belt in the future. Jones retained his heavyweight title against 42-year-old Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November, but has continued to snub Aspinall, who has called him out for a unification bout for months to no avail. Instead, Jones has said he would prefer a legacy-defining bout with light heavyweight champion Pereira, and even took to social media in November to explain his reasons why. “This is a great question,” Gane said on The Ariel Helwani show, when asked if Aspinall has a better chance against Jones and Pereira. “For the fight against Stipe, everything was possible, because Stipe is a really great fighter, really well-rounded. “But he’s [Jones] proved other times that he is so dangerous, he’s capable of changing, he can do everything he wants. “So even if you have a guy who is really good with his striking or wrestling, he can manage this. “I’m going to say Tom, because he’s more well-rounded, but when you have a guy like Alex Pereira, he’s so dangerous on the striking, so everything is possible.” Gane was submitted by Jones in the first round of the pair’s main event clash at UFC 285 in what was the latter’s first fight in over three years following a torn pec injury. The 34-year-old from France beat Derrick Lewis to top a seven-fight winning streak in August 2021, and was subsequently crowned the UFC interim heavyweight champion. Gane’s only other career defeat came at the hands of NgannouGETTY However, he went on to lose his first shot at heavyweight gold against Ngannou at UFC 270 via unanimous decision after five rounds. That was Ngannou’s last-ever UFC appearance, and he has since signed for the PFL and been crowned their inaugural Super Fight heavyweight champion after flattening Renan Ferreira in Saudi Arabia. “Jon Jones has nothing to prove,” Gane added. “He can choose for the legacy fight you see. “Now he’s in a really great position and I think he’s a real businessman and wants the big purse you see. “So if the fight happens with Alex Pereira he’s gonna win a lot of money and if the UFC want to do the fight against Tom, he’s going to ask for a lot of money too, he’s a business man.” Aspinall had front row seats for Jones vs Miocic at Madison Square Garden in November as the official backup fighter for the main event bout. Aspinall was octagonside for Jones vs MiocicGETTY His potential unification bout with Jones has been the most talked about subject in MMA over the past few months, with many fans claiming the latter is intentionally avoiding the Manchester native. Aspinall went viral for his breakdown of Jones’ fight with Miocic on TNT Sports, where he left one guest speechless after revealing the current champion’s sneaky in-fight tactics. The 31-year-old has been studying Jones for months now, with his only goal being to become UFC’s undisputed heavyweight champion. UFC 310 sees Alexandre Pantoja defend his flyweight belt for the third time against debutant Kai Asakura, while Shavkat Rakhmonov battles Ireland’s Ian Garry for No.1 welterweight contender status. The prelims for UFC 310 are just as good as former middleweight champion Michael Bisping even claimed they could be the “best ever” in the sport’s history. Two former Jones title rivals in Dominick Reyes and Anthony Smith share the octagon and former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling challenges Russia’s undefeated Movsar Evloev. UFC 310’s early prelims will begin at 11pm GMT on UFC Fight Pass, with the prelims kicking off at 1am. The main card is scheduled to begin around 3am this Sunday for UK fans live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and will be broadcast on TNT Sports.
Ciryl Gane has named one reason why Tom Aspinall is more likely to beat Jon Jones than Alex Pereira.
Gane is the No.2 ranked heavyweight in Dana White’s promotion and his only two professional MMA losses have come against UFC icons Jones and Francis Ngannou.
He returns to action this weekend at UFC 310 against Alexander Volkov in the pair’s rematch to decide who will contest either Jones or Aspinall for the unified heavyweight belt in the future.
Jones retained his heavyweight title against 42-year-old Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November, but has continued to snub Aspinall, who has called him out for a unification bout for months to no avail.
Instead, Jones has said he would prefer a legacy-defining bout with light heavyweight champion Pereira, and even took to social media in November to explain his reasons why.
“This is a great question,” Gane said on The Ariel Helwani show, when asked if Aspinall has a better chance against Jones and Pereira.
“For the fight against Stipe, everything was possible, because Stipe is a really great fighter, really well-rounded.
“But he’s [Jones] proved other times that he is so dangerous, he’s capable of changing, he can do everything he wants.
“So even if you have a guy who is really good with his striking or wrestling, he can manage this.
“I’m going to say Tom, because he’s more well-rounded, but when you have a guy like Alex Pereira, he’s so dangerous on the striking, so everything is possible.”
Gane was submitted by Jones in the first round of the pair’s main event clash at UFC 285 in what was the latter’s first fight in over three years following a torn pec injury.
The 34-year-old from France beat Derrick Lewis to top a seven-fight winning streak in August 2021, and was subsequently crowned the UFC interim heavyweight champion.
However, he went on to lose his first shot at heavyweight gold against Ngannou at UFC 270 via unanimous decision after five rounds.
That was Ngannou’s last-ever UFC appearance, and he has since signed for the PFL and been crowned their inaugural Super Fight heavyweight champion after flattening Renan Ferreira in Saudi Arabia.
“Jon Jones has nothing to prove,” Gane added. “He can choose for the legacy fight you see.
“Now he’s in a really great position and I think he’s a real businessman and wants the big purse you see.
“So if the fight happens with Alex Pereira he’s gonna win a lot of money and if the UFC want to do the fight against Tom, he’s going to ask for a lot of money too, he’s a business man.”
Aspinall had front row seats for Jones vs Miocic at Madison Square Garden in November as the official backup fighter for the main event bout.
His potential unification bout with Jones has been the most talked about subject in MMA over the past few months, with many fans claiming the latter is intentionally avoiding the Manchester native.
Aspinall went viral for his breakdown of Jones’ fight with Miocic on TNT Sports, where he left one guest speechless after revealing the current champion’s sneaky in-fight tactics.
The 31-year-old has been studying Jones for months now, with his only goal being to become UFC’s undisputed heavyweight champion.
UFC 310 sees Alexandre Pantoja defend his flyweight belt for the third time against debutant Kai Asakura, while Shavkat Rakhmonov battles Ireland’s Ian Garry for No.1 welterweight contender status.
The prelims for UFC 310 are just as good as former middleweight champion Michael Bisping even claimed they could be the “best ever” in the sport’s history.
Two former Jones title rivals in Dominick Reyes and Anthony Smith share the octagon and former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling challenges Russia’s undefeated Movsar Evloev.
UFC 310’s early prelims will begin at 11pm GMT on UFC Fight Pass, with the prelims kicking off at 1am.
The main card is scheduled to begin around 3am this Sunday for UK fans live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and will be broadcast on TNT Sports.
