Ciryl Gane Emerges as Leading Candidate to Challenge Aspinall

Jailton Almeida, a Brazilian mixed martial artist, has publicly challenged Tom Aspinall for a shot at the UFC heavyweight title. This challenge occurred shortly after Aspinall was officially recognized as the undisputed heavyweight champion. The confirmation followed the retirement announcement of MMA icon Jon Jones.

Aspinall’s ascension to undisputed champion concludes a 19-month period as interim titleholder. He now joins the ranks as only the third British fighter to achieve a UFC title.

A highly anticipated unification fight with Jones failed to materialize due to the American’s decision to retire. Aspinall is now preparing for his first title defense, and the UFC is in the process of identifying his next competitor.

Numerous top-ranked UFC heavyweights are vying for a chance to challenge Aspinall. Almeida, currently ranked sixth, argues that he is the most logical choice, asserting that a fight between him and Aspinall ‘makes sense’.

Almeida stated on X, “Congrats champ. You deserve that. Now, let’s make the only fight that makes sense! Aspinall vs Almeida for the undisputed heavyweight title of the world.” He further commented, “[Ciryl] Gane has ducked you and me before, already fought for the belt and lost two times, and his last win was a robbery.”

Ciryl Gane, the UFC’s second-ranked heavyweight, is considered the frontrunner to face Aspinall for the heavyweight title. Gane’s recent victory over Alexander Volkov was controversial, with many observers believing Volkov won the bout.

Gane’s previous attempts at the title include a loss to Jones at UFC 285 in March 2023, which marked Jones’s heavyweight debut. He also suffered a defeat to Francis Ngannou 15 months earlier in his initial bid for the championship.

Almeida uses these prior defeats to bolster his argument that he, rather than Gane, warrants the title opportunity, given Gane’s two previous unsuccessful title challenges.