Tom Aspinall Left Speechless as UFC Paris Crowd Channels Conor McGregor’s 2015 Dublin

UFC Paris is happening this weekend, but Dana White and Co. gave the French fans in the capital another treat. Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and challenger Ciryl Gane also seemed to be in the City of Light, but they were there for the pre-fight press conference for their title fight headliner at UFC 321. And guess what? Aspinall felt the support Gane had in his native country.

Tom Aspinall wanted to beat the best to become the undisputed champion. Well, he did become the undisputed champion, but did not get to fight the best, who, in this case, was Jon Jones. Aspinall had been on the sidelines for way too long, and he finally has a fight against someone whom he’d been chasing to fight for a long time. Meanwhile, the kind of reception Ciryl Gane received was reminiscent of the way Ireland fans showed their support for Conor McGregor a decade ago.

Tom Aspinall deals with Conor McGregor-esque support for Ciryl Gane in Paris

When Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo came to Ireland for a presser before their eventual UFC 194 showdown in 2015, the Irish crowd showed unbelievable energy. They chanted, they sang, and while they cheered their local hero, the boos were heavy when the focus shifted to Aldo. Similarly, the French crowd, although it did not show the same level of energy as the Irish fans did, booed pretty loudly and silenced Tom Aspinall, who was being asked a question about Ciryl Gane.

The heavyweight champion paid full attention to the crowd reaction, and as he tried to answer the journalist’s question, the boos of the crowd in Paris got louder. Apparently, his previous comments about Ciryl Gane not deserving a title shot before ‘Bon Gamin’s went on to beat Alexander Volkov rubbed the French fans the wrong way. As such, Aspinall decided to pipe down and simply say, “Ciryl, you just do your thing. I’ll just chill.”

Well, Tom Aspinall may not have expected the kind of response he received in Paris, but then again, it’s enemy territory. UFC 321 is going to be his first title defense, but it appears that the Englishman is not worried about the belt as much as he’s worried about beating Ciryl Gane.

It’s more about the fight than the belt, claims Aspinall

As we mentioned earlier, the fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane had been in the making for quite a long time. But the Frenchman often found himself occupied with other endeavors, such as working on his Netflix series, K.O., among others, which made this fight get delayed. But now that the fight is finally going to happen, Aspinall claims that his sole focus is on his next fight and not the belt. It is understandable, given that he’s been away from action for a long time.

“To be honest, I don’t really care about belts and stuff. I only care about my next fight. Ciryl is my next fight, he’s the guy I’m focused on. This fight has been simmering for a long time, do you know what I mean?” Tom Aspinall stated during the recent presser. “We both got in the UFC around the same time, we’ve been talking about this fight for a long time. So, I’m just ready to fight this guy already and take him out.”

Well, the kind of support Ciryl Gane received in Paris may be the same in Abu Dhabi at UFC 321. We’ll have to wait and see if Tom Aspinall can continue his reign or if ‘Bon Gamin’ finally captures the undisputed belt in his third attempt. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.