Ciryl Gane addresses Tom Aspinall's cheating allegations ahead of title fight

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 25: (R-L) Ciryl Gane of France punches Tom Aspinall of England in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 321 event at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Ciryl Gane isn’t spending much time worrying about what Tom Aspinall thinks about him as he prepares to compete for the interim heavyweight title at the UFC White House card on Sunday. The veteran French heavyweight takes on Alex Pereira in the co-main event with an interim title up for grabs with Aspinall still sidelined with an eye injury suffered in his fight against Gane this past October. The title fight ended after a brutal eye poke from Gane left Aspinall unable to see and the bout was declared a no-contest. In the aftermath of the fight as Aspinall underwent multiple surgeries to repair the damage done, he called Gane a “cheater” for his tactics and remains steadfast that the eye pokes were no accident. On Tuesday, Gane responded to those allegations and didn’t seem too bothered by anything Aspinall has said thus far. “This is his opinion,” Gane said during UFC White House media day. “We have a beautiful, professional referee. The referee told me nothing because I respect the rules. It’s just an opinion. Everybody [has] an opinion. It’s OK.” As far as his own reaction to the stoppage and the fight ending in such disappointing fashion, Gane admits he was initially upset but he had to move on because there was nothing else he could do about it. While he obviously hopes to rematch Aspinall in the future, Gane has now turned his full attention towards Pereira and the interim title fight on Sunday. “Straight after the fight in the cage, it was a mix of feelings,” Gane said. “A little bit frustrated, a little bit angry, a little bit sad. “Because thinking about all of the sacrifices I made. But after that, it was a good first round, injury free, healthy. The most important [thing] is that.”