UFC star Ciryl Gane has said he won’t be bothered if Tom Aspinall decides to put his hand on his shoulder ahead of their fight this weekend.
On Saturday night, Tom Aspinall will defend the UFC heavyweight championship against Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 321. It serves as a big moment for both men as Tom attempts to further prove the hype is real, whereas Gane wants to break his 0-2 record in world title fights in the UFC.
Of course, both men are known for being great strikers, and we expect to see that on full display in this encounter. In one of his previous big fights, Aspinall put his hand on the shoulder of his opponent Sergei Pavlovich right before the fight began, which some saw as a strange move at the time, and others saw as a sign of respect.
In a recent interview, Ciryl Gane made it clear that he doesn’t mind it Aspinall does the same thing to him.
Ciryl Gane’s view on Tom Aspinall’s pre-fight Pavlovich move
“I saw the talk about Tom putting his hand on opponents’ shoulders. For me, I’m going to let him do this — it means nothing. Maybe that didn’t come from him, maybe it came from people around him. But me, I don’t take that kind of thing personally. It’s not smart to play mind games.”
Regardless of what happens before the fight, the actual bout itself is what looks set to be one of the most intriguing features of the MMA calendar this year.
