UFC interim champ Tom Aspinall on whether Ciryl Gane is ducking him: 'I don't know what his aspirations are'

No ill will, but UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall isn’t sure if Ciryl Gane wants to fight him.

Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) revealed that the original plan was to defend his interim title against Gane at UFC 304, but “Bon Gamin” allegedly turned it down due to current obligations filming a movie.

Aspinall was asked if he thinks Gane is ducking him.

“Maybe a bit, I don’t know,” Aspinall told The MacLife. “It’s difficult to say like, if he’s getting loads – I don’t know what his aspirations are. He might really want to be an actor. That might be his thing. So he’s thinking, ‘F*ck this MMA stuff. I’m going to go and be the French Arnold Schwarzenegger here. I’m going to crack on with that.’ Fair play to Ciryl, though. Good luck to him. I’ve got nothing against Ciryl.”

Instead, Aspinall will defend his interim title in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the July 27 co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

Gane tried to fight Aspinall on the upcoming Sept. 28 card in Paris, but Aspinall claims that UFC 304 isn’t the first time the Frenchman hasn’t accepted to fight him.

“He’s had a few opportunities to fight me, and he’s turned it down,” Aspinall said. “That’s the facts of it. I’m not saying he’s ducking me or he’s not ducking me. Right now he’s being an actor, and I wish him all the best in that. … I do wish him luck with it. No hard feelings against Ciryl. I’m not trying to throw him under the bus or nothing. I respect him. I respect what he’s doing. Has he ducked me? Probably. But all right, fair enough.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.