Ciryl Gane is getting another shot at UFC (interim) gold, but the controversy surrounding his last Octagon appearance is still haunting him.
The stoppage against Aspinall became one of the most debated moments in the heavyweight division. Aspinall was unable to continue after taking a finger to the eye during an exchange, leaving fans frustrated over how the fight ended.
Ahead of his interim heavyweight title fight against Alex Pereira on June 14, at UFC Freedom, Gane was questioned the eye poke incident that ended his latest fight.
The French heavyweight defended the sequence during a recent interview with New York Post Sports. It seems that to him, the foul is just an unfortunate part of MMA competition.
Just a part of MMA?
Gane acknowledged the incident, but rejected the idea that it was anything unusual.
“No, unfortunately this happens on every event,” Gane said.
The former interim champion explained that he was attempting to frame off Aspinall’s face after throwing a kick when the contact occurred.
“I tried to push his face. My fingers just swiping on his eyes. This is MMA.”
Gane also said he understood Aspinall’s situation more after seeing how long the recovery process took following the injury. Still, he admitted he was frustrated immediately after the fight because he believed the contest could have continued.
Watch the New York Post Sports interview here
Another interim title opportunity
While the eye poke debate still lingers among fans, Gane is now focused on another massive opportunity against Pereira. The matchup is expected to headline the UFC’s historic White House event and could determine the next undisputed heavyweight title challenger.
Gane praised Pereira’s striking credentials during the interview and called the matchup a “beautiful” fight between two elite stand-up fighters. He also reminded fans that he plans to approach the fight as a complete mixed martial artist rather than turning it into a pure kickboxing match.
A victory over Pereira would likely set up a rematch with Aspinall later this year.
What do you think? Are you allowed to just “push the face and swipe the eyes in MMA”? And how bad are Gane’s eyepokes compared to those of Jon Jones? And do they happen at “every event”?