Jon Anik believes Tom Aspinall is in one of the biggest high-pressure spots we’ve seen in recent UFC history.
The undisputed heavyweight champion puts his newly-minted title on the line against Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 321 this Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Aspinall makes his first appearance since his successful interim championship defense against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024.
All of the hype since that fight was on a potential unification bout against Jon Jones, but ultimately Jones announced his retirement and vacated the championship. Following that move, the UFC immediately promoted Aspinall to undisputed champ.
With Jones behind him, and now a matchup with Gane — where Aspinall is a heavy betting favorite — Anik, who calls the action at UFC 321 with Daniel Cormier and Laura Sanko, sees the weight of the world on Aspinall’s shoulders.
“Well, forget any pressure put upon him by his dear friend and my friend and broadcast partner, Michael Bisping, being suggested that Tom Aspinall is going to not only go down as the greatest British mixed martial arts athlete of all time, but truly one of the all time greats,” Anik told MMA Fighting. “But his fan base has swelled exponentially because of the whole Jon Jones circus/exercise, right? Ciryl Gane has gotten a lot of opportunities. He’s a credentialed heavyweight. He’s an outstanding striker. Seemingly, there has been an appetite for improvement in the wrestling and grappling areas. But Tom Aspinall is anointed. We went back, Kenny Florian and I did for UFC Fight Pass this week, and watched some of the early film and even then, you can just see shades of greatness.
“So I think there’s always been pressure on Tom, but because he didn’t get the Jon Jones fight and because he’s now the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, never mind the fact that he’s a 4-to-1 favorite in this crazy sport, could you imagine if [next Monday], we’re all doing our podcasts and shows and talking about Tom Aspinall not holding serve as the favorite? It would be crazy, I think, in any other sport, right? 4-to-1 favorites don’t lose very often in sports. So, yeah, there’s a lot of pressure on Tommy, and I know he eats it like a f*cking sandwich. … I mean, my gosh, man, there have been a ton of pressure spots, right? Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and Conor both in their rivalry, of course, and I think back to like the pressure Dustin was facing in the second Conor McGregor fight. I mean, there are a ton of pressure spots, right? You know, Dustin Poirier could not afford to lose that second fight to Conor McGregor, but Tom Aspinall cannot afford to lose at UFC 321.”
Gane gets his third opportunity at the undisputed title, although the majority of the MMA community, including UFC CEO Dana White, feel Gane was handed a gift by the judges in his controversial decision win over Alexander Volkov at UFC 310 this past December. In his previous two attempts, “Bon Gamin” fell to Francis Ngannou by decision and then got the opportunity to welcome Jones to the heavyweight division after “The Predator” exited the UFC as a free agent to sign with PFL, which left the belt vacant.
Jones submitted Gane in quick order to become a two-division champ.
There’s certainly pressure on Gane to succeed in this fight as this may be his last chance to call himself an undisputed UFC champion. So the pressure is certainly high on both sides, and while Aspinall still has plenty of time to go back to the drawing board and reclaim that championship, Anik believes a loss to Gane could be etched in our memories for a long time when it comes to the all-time great discussion over time.
“So I’m an MMA fan, and I think in our conversation that comes across: If you don’t think, over last week, at some point, I’ve called my twin brother, whom I talk to eight times a day, and said, ‘Dude, can you imagine if Tom Aspinall f*cking loses?,’” Anik said. “Of course, that conversation has happened. I’m just a fan at my core. It would be insane. But anything can happen in mixed martial arts, and Ciryl Gane is more than anything. He has more than a puncher’s chance, but it would be crazy to walk into that world.
“But in terms of how it would affect Tom, what are the goals here? Right? Because he is going to realize financial freedom. This man is going to make a ton of money, even if he, quote, unquote, slips on a banana peel at UFC 321, I would expect him to go back and become the undisputed heavyweight champion again. I think he’s that good. I’m much more aligned with Michael Bisping than not in terms of how great Tom Aspinall can be. That’s why there’s a lot of pressure. A lot of pressure to hold serve here, and I think he has a great chance to do just that.”
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