Ciryl Gane's Coach Addresses Ducking Accusations

Ciryl Gane along with his coach

Fernand Lopez, coach and manager of Ciryl Gane, has responded to accusations that Gane is avoiding fights. Gane (12-2) has faced criticism for not accepting certain matchups, which Lopez deems unfair.

Gane hasn't fought since defeating Serghei Spivac last September. Recently, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall (14-3) mentioned that the UFC attempted to set up a fight between him and Gane before his bout with Curtis Blaydes (18-4) at UFC 304. Gane, however, declined.

Lopez confirmed Gane turned down the fight but clarified it was due to a prior commitment to a Netflix film, a fact the UFC was aware of. He also dismissed claims that Gane was offered a fight against Blaydes.

“The first and only time the UFC offered Tom Aspinall was for July 27,”

Lopez told MMA Junkie.

He explained that calling someone out doesn't guarantee a fight. Lopez emphasized that Gane has never avoided a challenge, citing past readiness to fight top contenders like Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. Lopez clarified that Gane was willing to fight Aspinall at UFC 300, but Aspinall was waiting for a bigger fight. When the UFC 304 offer came, Gane was committed to the movie project.

“I asked Mick Maynard and Hunter to put Tom Aspinall for UFC 300,” Lopez said. “But they couldn’t because Aspinall was expecting Jon Jones to accept the fight. It's not honest for him to say Ciryl ducked him.”

Gane is now set to face Alexander Volkov again at UFC 308 on October 26 in Abu Dhabi. Gane previously defeated Volkov in June 2021 and aims to replicate his success.