Tom Aspinall disagrees with fans doubting Ciryl Gane’s ability - praises Ciryl Gane

[SuperAlly]

Smart take.

More fighters should understand you want your opponents to look like a valuable scalp on your resume

Tom's just being professional and humble publicly

Privately he no doubt strongly fancies himself to fuck up Cyril in all areas of MMA and especially on the ground clown him

To really give your best in training and be 100% prepared you have to trick yourself into believing this is your toughest match

 

[jeff7b9]

Tom's just being professional and humble publicly

Privately he no doubt strongly fancies himself to fuck up Cyril in all areas of MMA and especially on the ground clown him

To really give your best in training and be 100% prepared you have to trick yourself into believing this is your toughest match

For sure.

That's what "media training" is all about.

It doesn't necessarily serve Tom's interest to be honest.


"I think there is a decent chance I blow thru this guy and make it look easy."

Then that win looks meaningless.

"This is a true challenge and opportunity to take out a guy who has established himself at the top of the game for many years now. I am taking him very seriously."

Well ok then... that sounds like a nice achievement.



And I think it is the truth that Tom is taking this fight very seriously and that he does see Gane as a bigger threat than most of his previous opponents (if not all).

 

[loisestrad]

Tom's just being professional and humble publicly

Privately he no doubt strongly fancies himself to fuck up Cyril in all areas of MMA and especially on the ground clown him

To really give your best in training and be 100% prepared you have to trick yourself into believing this is your toughest match

Tom doesn't have to "trick himself" into believing that Gane is his toughest opponent.

He would have to trick himself into believing that he isn't.

 

[Blastbeat]

HESPEC
DEEZ
NUTS

im lookin for those nuts brother but i cant see em, theyre too small
to quote Kimbo - "i bet you got lil baby nuts"

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

People forget Ciryl Gane is an absolute stud. One of the most athletic HW's of all time and a great striker who can go 10 rounds breathing through his nose. His ground game sucks but there aren't many HW's who can take advantage of it. You need to be a great MMA grappler (Jones) or a freak of nature (Ngannou) to get past the speed, counters, footwork.

Tom seems to have what it takes but I don't know enough about his wrestling to feel confident. I also don't know if Gane has been wrestling like a maniac since he was humiliated by Jones. On the feet it would be a 50/50 fight imo.

I dont think it necessarily takes a freak of nature or "great" grappler to beat him. Volkov arguably should have got the decision over him and he is neither of those things. He hasnt fought Jailton, Pav, Blaydes, Delija or Kuniev either, I think he'd lose several of those fights tbh.

His athleticism and the technical nature of his striking game is definitely exceptional for a HW, but then his power and grappling is also below average for a HW. Its not a recipe for success if we are talking all time head to head effectiveness. If Tom is as advertised he should be able to wrestlefuck this dude and stop him within 3.

 

[SuperAlly]

Tom doesn't have to "trick himself" into believing that Gane is his toughest opponent.

He would have to trick himself into believing that he isn't.

Pavlovich and Volkov are arguably tougher

Facing that Pavlovich at that time was definitely a bigger psychological hurdle. No arguments to the contrary. Pav was the Ivan Drago annihilating everyone in 1 round with touch of death KOs, on a crazy first round KO streak. Gane in 2025 has been exposed multiple times as a piss poor grappler and doesn't have KO power.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

Tom doesn't have to "trick himself" into believing that Gane is his toughest opponent.

He would have to trick himself into believing that he isn't.

What are we basing this on? Blaydes has way better wrestling, Pav has better wrestling AND hits way harder, and Gane has fought neither of them. Then theres Volkov who has been very competitive with Gane and arguably beat him.

 

[Intermission]

I think Gane has real technical stand-up skills but he's quite a bit worse since the ngannou fight and he's already been exposed grappling wise.

Even if he works on his grappling, his peak as a striker has passed. There's levels to this.

 

[loisestrad]

Pavlovich and Volkov are arguably tougher

Facing that Pavlovich at that time was definitely a bigger psychological hurdle. No arguments to the contrary. Pav was the Ivan Drago annihilating everyone in 1 round with touch of death KOs, on a crazy first round KO streak. Gane in 2025 has been exposed multiple times as a piss poor grappler and doesn't have KO power.

Pavlovich at the time was definitely a big task and a scary opponent. True.

 

[Caio]

The right mindset. Any strike from a HW can end a fight.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

You can never underestimate a professional fighter like Ciryl Gane. The guy can light you up easily with a left high kick and it's over. So yeah you should never look past your opponent, always be sharp and ready to rumble.

 

[Thy]

What a swell guy. Such a nice fella.

 

[Tapatio]

Gane is easy to read. He's got great striking, and that's about it.

 

[MMAFanCal]

Tom being Tom.

He's smart though, in today's mma landscape what you say can haunt you for a long time.

Remember when you could say things like: he can't fight himself out of a wet paper bag only to get your face punched in for a KO and the backlash lasted maybe a day or two?

Very true. Post fight meme galores.

 

[HatKick]

I dont think it necessarily takes a freak of nature or "great" grappler to beat him. Volkov arguably should have got the decision over him and he is neither of those things. He hasnt fought Jailton, Pav, Blaydes, Delija or Kuniev either, I think he'd lose several of those fights tbh.

His athleticism and the technical nature of his striking game is definitely exceptional for a HW, but then his power and grappling is also below average for a HW. Its not a recipe for success if we are talking all time head to head effectiveness. If Tom is as advertised he should be able to wrestlefuck this dude and stop him within 3.

The 2nd Volkov fight was an outlier imo since Gane broke his foot in the first round. If he hadn't I doubt that fight goes to the ground (unless Gane shoots for a weird unnecessary takedown which he's been known to do).
I realize you can flip that around and say Ngannou was hurt in their fight and still managed to take him down, but I mean that's still 265 lbs weight cutting Ngannou. He tossed Ciryl in the air and he could probably toss any HW if he got his arms around him.

The Spivac fight is what happens when Ciryl fights a good grappler that lacks the physical talent. But you're right, it doesn't take some historically great grappler. I like Jailton's and Blaydes' chances against him. Is Tom a better grappler than them? I honestly don't know.

On the feet I think Ciryl UD's Pav and stands a 45% chance against Tom.

 

[Burd]

I give gane a 25 percent chance. It’s possible he knocks him out or wins by decision, but I just don’t see it happening. I think Tom first round tko

 

[Egészségére!]

He’s not a scrub & the heel hook & triangle to start his ufc career were impressive for a Muay Thai crossover

Still, if the HW Div was close to what it should be he’d probably be a 5-10 ranked fighter

 

[sdpdude9]

Gane is good and a tough test. Yeah, he shit the bed hard against Jones but he’s generally not an easy out.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

Still, if the HW Div was close to what it should be he’d probably be a 5-10 ranked fighter

For all we know thats his actual level. He has beaten one top 5 ranked guy and many people thought he lost.

 

[haj02]

Tom's just being professional and humble publicly

Privately he no doubt strongly fancies himself to fuck up Cyril in all areas of MMA and especially on the ground clown him

To really give your best in training and be 100% prepared you have to trick yourself into believing this is your toughest match

Andrew Aspinall detected.