Tom Aspinall slams fans saying he wanted a way out against Ciryl Gane: ‘I was expecting a tough fight’

Tom Aspinall has made it clear he wasn’t looking for a way out against Ciryl Gane.

Aspinall was defending his undisputed heavyweight title for the first time against Gane back in October at UFC 321. Early on in the fight, Gane was having success as Aspinall was bleeding from his nose. However, Gane then poked Aspinall in both eyes, and the champ couldn’t continue, making the fight a no-contest.

It was a disappointing ending to the fight, and many fans claimed Aspinall wanted a way out. However, he said that is far from the case, as he knew going in he was going to have the toughest fight of his career.

Tom Aspinall fires back at fans who claimed he wanted out

“Ciryl Gane is a tough stylistic matchup for me. People to think this was a way out are crazy, absolutely insane,” Aspinall said to Ariel Helwani. “I was expecting a tough fight. I was prepared for the toughest fight of my life. Ciryl Gane is a very, very dangerous opponent. I wasn’t trying to knock him out — I was just trying to pace myself for five rounds.”

People claim Aspinall was looking for a way out due to the fact that his nose was bleeding. However, he said his nose always bleeds when it gets hit, and he had no problem breathing or was tired as some claimed.

“My nose is all good. I’ve probably broken my nose three or four times in my life,” Aspinall said. “If you hit me in the nose, it’s gonna bleed. But mate, the casual, noob, hater MMA fan who sees one bit of blood and thinks that guy’s losing a fight? It’s wild. These people must think I’m literally unstoppable if they believe that just because I’ve got a bloody nose I’m losing a fight. I got hit with a couple of jabs and a couple of low kicks… You really think I’m looking for a way out? Come on, mate.”

The focus for Aspinall now is to get back healthy, as his vision is still an issue before he resumes training. Once he’s ready to return, a rematch against Gane will be next.