The sights of Tom Aspinall have switched from Jon Jones to one UFC heavyweight that he has long pushed to fight.
Aspinall spent a record time as an interim champion, with his plans to achieve undisputed status in the division that was constantly delayed by Jon Jones.
It took 19 months before the heavyweight division returned to having one champion, and that did not arise because of a long -awaited union battle between Jones and Aspinall.
Instead, Dana White announced the retirement of Jones last Saturday, so that the British heavyweight was raised to the undisputed throne. That has now enabled him to continue and concentrate on the harvest of highly ranked contenders of the division.
And although nothing is put in stone, it seems to be trending to a long -discussed matchup for Aspinall.
Tom Aspinall looks forward to giving Ciryl Gane a 'blow'
After confirming the controversial pension of Jones, Talk quickly turned to whom Aspinall will probably defend the title by almost a year after his victory over Curtis Blaydes to retain the interim belt.
Three names seem to be contrary: Ciryl Gane, Jilton Almeida and Alexander Volkov. The French former interim champion seems to be the most likely candidate.
That seems to be music in the ears of Aspinall, who wanted to pay 'Bon Gamin' for rejecting his callouts a few years ago.
“I actually fought a lot of the top 10,” Aspinall said on the diary of a CEO podcast. “One of the boys I didn't fight is Ciryl Gane, a French man.
“I actually hunted that fight a few times before. He dived and dived around a bit. He is a bit of a mistreatment of me. I look forward to it.
“There are still a few boys in the ranking, a Brazilian man, Jilton Almeida, I didn't fight,” Aspinall added. “There is a man I have already defeated named Alexander Volkov who is also doing very well for himself.”
Ciryl Gane says that negotiations on Tom Aspinall fights are underway
Speculation about the Aspinall vs. Gane Matchup was encouraged by recent comments from the potential challenger.
During a performance at UFC Unfiltered, the French star revealed that his manager had already had positive conversations with the UFC during his first championship fight since Gane's crushing loss for Jones in March 2023.
“My manager spoke with the matchmaking, with Hunter (Campbell). I know they are working on it this week, and we can keep in touch. Nothing has been resolved yet, we just wait for more discussions and perhaps a location and date. We really have faith in this fight.”
That news is likely to be disappointing for Volkov, who, according to many, deserve to get the nod of the judges instead of Gane in their fight on UFC 310 last December.