Tom Aspinall has a big challenge ahead of him no matter who wins at UFC White House.
The historic June 14 event features a blockbuster co-main event with Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane battling for an interim heavyweight title. That championship opportunity was created due to Aspinall, the UFC’s undisputed heavyweight champion, currently sidelined as he recovers from injuries suffered in his disappointing title defense against Gane this past October that ended in a no-contest due to Gane poking Aspinall’s eyes.
Aspinall is expected to meet Pereira or Gane in a title unification bout next and he sees the appeal of both matchups.
“I want revenge, of course,” Aspinall told Fight Your Corner. “But also, there’s an argument to say that me and Pereira would be a bigger fight. I don’t know, they’re both big fights aren’t they? Pereira’s got a massive fanbase, massive, like globally.”
With UFC White House just weeks away now, Pereira’s heavyweight move is close to becoming a reality. The Brazilian knockout artist has already won UFC titles at middleweight and light heavyweight, and should he defeat Gane for an interim belt, he will become the first UFC fighter ever to capture titles in three divisions.
Aspinall doesn’t think it will be easy for Pereira, whose legendary power could be dulled in the UFC’s heaviest weight class.
“First of all, he’s an absolute generational talent, Alex Pereira,” Aspinall said. “If he wins this fight, even if it’s an interim title, it’ll be the first person ever to win three different weights, which is unbelievable. He’s massive. I have no idea how he made middle, because he’s my height, maybe a little bit shorter than me, 6-4-ish, 6-5, massive weight cuts, and now he’s fighting at heavyweight. … He carries a lot of power at light heavy and middle, but he’s also fighting a lot smaller guys whose punch resistance is a lot less. So, in my opinion, a big factor of why he’s knocking these guys out is because he’s a lot bigger than them.
“A guy like Ciryl Gane who’s used to taking punches off big, big heavyweights, like, he didn’t get hurt off Francis Ngannou for five rounds, which is one of the biggest punchers in the division. I don’t know if [Pereira’s] punch resistance will be as good at heavyweight.”
In addition to the power and durability deficit Pereira might face on June 14, Aspinall wonders how he’ll deal with Gane likely having an advantage when it comes to agility and athleticism.
“Also, Alex Pereira is very good when he fights light heavyweights or middleweights who don’t move a lot,” Aspinall said. “Ciryl Gane is a massive heavyweight who moves a lot. Moves really well, really, really fluid on his feet, in and out, judges the distance really well and stuff like that. So stylistically, I think it’s a good matchup for Gane.
“That being said, Gane doesn’t like leg kicks. He doesn’t fare well against leg kicks. He’s a good kicker, but if someone kicks him, his leg kick defense isn’t great. Alex Pereira, unbelievable leg kickers. Like his calf kicks, have you seen the calf kicks he does? He slows people down. That’s how he sets up the left hook is he kicks them to the calf, stops the movement a little bit, and then comes in with the left hook.”
Having shared the cage with Gane—however briefly—Aspinall is familiar with how tricky the former one-time interim champion can be and he didn’t hesitate to offer his prediction on the Pereira vs. Gane matchup based on his own experiences.
“I would say Gane by points,” Aspinall said. “I think he’s just going to move too much for him and beat him on points.”
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