Jon Jones: Gane's confidence 'at an all-time high,' beats Aspinall in rematch
· Yahoo Sports
Jon Jones likes what he's seen out of Ciryl Gane lately.
Visit newssport.cv for more information.
Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) is unbeaten since getting quickly submitted by Jones in their vacant heavyweight title fight in March 2023. After back-to-back wins over Serghei Spivac and Alexander Volkov, Gane worked his way back up to another title fight against Tom Aspinall, who was promoted to undisputed UFC heavyweight champion when Jones retired.
Gane vs. Aspinall at UFC 321 was looking like a competitive fight until Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in the eye and rendered him unable to continue. While Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) recovered from double eye surgery, Gane faced Alex Pereira for the interim title, finishing him by Round 2 TKO at UFC Freedom 250.
Gane's win over Pereira sets up the highly anticipated rematch with Aspinall, who's been fully cleared to train.
"I believe Gane is going to win," Jones told Ring Magazine. "When you become the champion and you beat a man like Alex Pereira, it has to do something for your confidence. Even in Gane's first fight with Tom Aspinall, Tom was looking pretty invincible until Ciryl Gane. Most people feel like Gane was winning that fight, so I feel like Gane's confidence has to be at an all-time high. I'll tell you, the night that I fought him, we were backstage talking to the doctor and he came into my curtain when I was privately with the doctor. He slid up in front of me and at that moment he just seemed so much bigger than just moments before.
"He slid up in front of me, he looked me in the eye, he shook my hand and he said, 'I'll be back, we're going to do this again,' and he said it like he meant it. That taught me a lot about his character right there. He wasn't mad, he wasn't bitter, he was a great sportsman, and he seemed more destined and determined than ever to the point where it was slightly intimidating. I'm like, 'Dude, I just choked you out minutes ago and you're looking at me like you're ready for Round 2.' So, I believed him when he said 'I'll be back,' and now he is back, just against different competition. He has my support. I love the class that he carries, and I think he's a great representative for France and for the UFC, and I hope he does really well for a really long time."
Jones' (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) fighting future remains uncertain, but he doesn't rule out a return. He is still in the UFC's drug-testing pool.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jon Jones: Gane's confidence 'at an all-time high,' beats Aspinall in rematch