Aspinall slams – Tom Aspinall, sidelined after double-eye surgery following illegal strikes in his October fight with Ciryl Gane, says he saw “a lot of illegal elbows” and “illegal punches” in Gane’s interim heavyweight stoppage of Alex Pereira. Gane, crowned at UFC Freedom 25
Tom Aspinall watched Ciryl Gane win the interim heavyweight title in a stoppage over Alex Pereira—and didn’t hide what he thought he saw.
The heavyweight division is still reeling from Aspinall’s own April-to-February recovery. Aspinall has been recovering from multiple eye surgeries after he suffered illegal eye pokes from Gane during their UFC 321 title fight last October. a bout that ended in a no-contest. He described months of severely blurred or limited vision in both eyes after that fight. Only recently did he return to the gym to resume training following double-eye surgery in February.
With Aspinall out indefinitely, the UFC introduced the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House lawn. On Saturday, Gane became the interim champion when he stopped Pereira, a former two-weight champion, with a technical knockout.
Gane stunned Pereira with a jab in the second round. From there, he repeatedly hurt his opponent with punches and elbows. Several of those elbows landed directly to the back of Pereira’s head. Strikes to the back of the head are illegal in mixed martial arts—but referee Herb Dean did not intervene or even warn Gane. and the fight was called off moments later. Gane’s hand was raised via technical knockout.
Aspinall said Gane looked good. but he also zeroed in on the moments that reminded him of the issue that derailed his own title run. In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Aspinall said he has to rewatch the fight. He described what he saw as “a lot of illegal elbows going on. and illegal punches. but generally. he looked good.”.
Aspinall also questioned how Pereira performed once the fight got going. He said Pereira “just didn’t really seem to get going. ” adding: “He just looked like a bit stiff and reserved from the beginning. I don’t know if he was trying to feel his way into the fight or what. but he just never seemed to. He looked slow.”.
Gane’s remarks after the stoppage pointed toward the path everyone in the division is now watching. During his post-fight interview, the 36-year-old from France said he knows what comes next: a rematch and title unification bout with Aspinall.
Pereira’s résumé helps explain why that’s such a loud promise. Pereira was a former two-weight kickboxing world champion. He began his UFC career at 185 pounds (middleweight). then moved up to 205 pounds (light-heavyweight). winning the title in each weight class. He later chose to step up to heavyweight and weighed 251 pounds the day before his debut versus Gane. Gane, meanwhile, has competed at heavyweight his entire career and was three pounds lighter than Pereira at 248.
As for what’s next between the two, Aspinall’s message was simple and direct. He analyzed Pereira’s movement in a way that made clear he’s already thinking ahead. saying: “He’s just waiting. He’s not setting anything up. though. he’s just stood there right in front of him.” Aspinall added. “Ciryl’s moving around really nice. doing the right thing.”.
The rematch talk immediately found its venue too. After Gane suggested fighting in Paris, Aspinall responded: “Paris in September, eh?. I’ll do that.” He continued: “Yeah, I’ll do that. Let me know. I don’t mind. I’ll go to Paris. Let me know. I’ll be there.” The UFC is returning to Paris for its annual September Fight Night event.
That idea lands in a heavyweight picture that has been constantly reshaped in recent years. Since 2021. Francis Ngannou. Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall have been the UFC’s only undisputed heavyweight champions. but blockbuster matchups between any of them never fully materialized. Now. Gane—who is now a two-time interim champion—has fought all three of Ngannou. Jones and Aspinall within the past 4.5 years. Gane lost a five-round decision to Ngannou in 2022. was submitted by Jones in 2023. and was lucky not to get disqualified against Aspinall in 2025.
Even with that momentum, the UFC itself is still keeping things vague. Dana White was asked after UFC Freedom 250 about whether Aspinall vs. Gane 2 could take place in France later this year. but the UFC president said he hadn’t even begun thinking about that rematch or where and when it could happen.
Tom Aspinall Ciryl Gane Alex Pereira UFC Freedom 250 interim heavyweight title UFC 321 Herb Dean Aspinall surgery Paris September Fight Night