Is This The Last Chance For Ciryl Gane? The French Athlete Explains Why He Is Angry Coming into UFC 321
Ciryl Gane isn’t feeling any pressure going into his third crack at the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship.
After coming up short against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones in years past, ‘Bon Gamin’ hopes the third time will be the charm when he challenges reigning titleholder Tom Aspinall this Saturday night at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.
Gane, 35, has been on the cusp of undisputed glory for quite some time, even capturing the division’s interim belt, handily defeating Derrick Lewis to claim the temporary title back in 2021.
Unfortunately for Gane, he failed to claim the undisputed crown in both 2023 and 2024, leaving his status in the weight class uncertain.
With back-to-back wins against Serghei Spivac and Alexander Volkov, Gane once again finds himself with a shot at the division’s top prize, though this could very well be his last chance at claiming the heavyweight throne.
“People say it’s my last chance,” Gane said during the UFC 321 media day on Wednesday. “I don’t care about that. If I want, I can keep fighting until I’m 40. I’m still young, still hungry. For me, this is not pressure — it’s motivation. I’m really angry in a good way — excited for the challenge.”
Gane will be the first fighter to challenge Aspinall after the Brit was promoted from interim to undisputed champion following Jon Jones‘ “retirement” from the sport earlier this year.
Overall, Aspinall is 8-1 inside the Octagon, with his only loss coming via a freak injury he suffered 15 seconds into his inaugural clash against Curtis Blaydes in 2022. Of course, Aspinall would go on to avenge that defeat, putting ‘Razor’ away 60 seconds into their interim title clash at UFC 304 last year.
