Tom Aspinall scolds Ciryl Gane for ‘illegal elbows’ at UFC White House, responds to Paris rematch pitch

Undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall claimed Ciryl Gane was up to his old tricks in his UFC White House win.

Multi-time interim UFC heavyweight titleholder Ciryl Gane became a two-time interim titleholder when he defeated Alex Pereira in the UFC White House co-main event on Sunday. Gane finished Pereira by TKO in a stunning result that secured him a rematch with undisputed champion Tom Aspinall.

After putting Aspinall in danger in their short-lived UFC 321 showdown, Gane could potentially enter their rematch as a modest favorite following UFC White House. Gane and Aspinall’s first fight ended abruptly after several accidental eye pokes left Aspinall unable to continue.

Aspinall has repeatedly labeled Gane a cheater since UFC 321, and after watching his career-best performance at UFC White House, the undisputed champ feels vindicated.

Tom Aspinall accepts Paris callout, but scolds Ciryl Gane for ‘illegal elbows’ vs. Alex Pereira

In a recent video posted to his YouTube channel, Aspinall reacted to Gane’s win and doubled down on his ‘cheater’ label.

“He looked good,” Aspinall said of Gane.

“I have to watch that again. It looked like there was a lot of illegal elbows going on, illegal punches, but generally, he looked good. [Pereira] just didn’t really seem to get going, did he? He just looked like a bit stiff and reserved from the beginning. I don’t know if he was trying to feel his way into the fight or what, but he just never seemed to … he looked slow, but he’s not a particularly fast light heavyweight.

“Paris in September, right? I’ll do that,” Aspinall continued. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Let me know. I don’t mind. I’ll go to Paris. Let me know.” (h/t MMA Mania)

As of this writing, the UFC has a Fight Night event scheduled for September 5th in Paris, although it’s highly unlikely that Aspinall vs. Gane 2 would headline a Fight Night card. The UFC hasn’t announced a main event fight for UFC 330 on August 15th in Philadelphia, although the card is rumored to feature Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry.

What is your early prediction for Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane 2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!