Ciryl Gane thinks Jon Jones may be rooting for ‘Bon Gamin’ to beat Aspinall at UFC 321 — ‘Tom disrespected him’

Ciryl Gane will have another chance to capture the undisputed heavyweight title after coming up short in two previous attempts.

“Bon Gamin” collides with Tom Aspinall atop the UFC 321 pay-per-view (PPV)

event on Sat. (Oct. 25) in Abu Dhabi, a fight that was booked after former 265-pound kingpin, Jon Jones, retired from mixed martial arts (MMA). That said, “Bones” claims to be hanging around for a potential spot in the UFC White House lineup next June and may have a vested interest in the UFC 321 headliner.

But will Jones be rooting for Gane?

“Maybe, because I think Tom disrespected him a little bit,” Gane told Full Send MMA. “So maybe he’s going to be on my side. Maybe, but yes, he retired, now it’s our turn, and we will see this Saturday. Every time when you have a new challenge, you have a new experience, I got some big losses. We’re talking about Jon Jones. I learned a lot from this fight, really. I fixed a lot of things from this fight. I grew up, my mindset is really different since this fight, and I was already detached from it.”

The 38 year-old Jones submitted Gane at UFC 285 then defended the title by stopping Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. “Bones” was expected to face Aspinall at some point earlier this year; however, the former light heavyweight champion opted to surrender his strap after a protracted negotiating process that included a war of words with Aspinall (and his outspoken father).

Gane remains a sizable underdog for this weekend’s title fight.

“For the people who know me, I’m really not focused on the outside, what the people think, the bettors,” Gane continued. “I only focus on myself and on my strengths. If you want to do a real statistic, you must understand all of my career, all of his career, the opponent, how he finished, and day after day I can see the opinion of the people changing a little bit because when you think a little bit more, you see, okay, it’s not going to be an easy fight.”

Depends on who you ask.

LIVE! Watch UFC 321 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to pay-per-view (PPV) action on Sat., Oct. 25, 2025, with a blockbuster title fight set to headline UFC 321 from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In UFC 321’s PPV main event, Heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, defends his title against top-ranked contender, Ciryl Gane, in a high-stakes, five-round bout. UFC 321’s PPV co-main event features a women’s Strawweight title showdown between Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern. UFC 321 will also showcase a Bantamweight clash between Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista, a Heavyweight bout pitting Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida, a Light Heavyweight matchup featuring Aleksandar Rakic vs. Azamat Murzakanov, and much more! UFC 321’s start time is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET (“Early Prelims”), 12 p.m. ET (“Prelims” undercard), and 2 p.m. ET (PPV main card).

Don’t miss a single second of face punching action!

Where to Buy:

• Check price at STREAM UFC 321

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 321 fight card on fight day, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 10 a.m. ET, followed by the UFC 321 PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 321: “Aspinall vs. Gane” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 321 fight card and PPV lineup click here.