The heavyweight division has always been a pressure cooker of rivalries and retribution, but what happens when one fighter decides to flip the script? Ahead of UFC 310, Tom Aspinall, the current interim heavyweight champion, finds himself at the center of a swirling storm of speculation, this time about potentially denying #2 contender Ciryl Gane a shot at redemption. Is this about rankings, or is there something more personal at play?

“Tom Aspinall has every right to not give it to Ciryl,” declared Chael Sonnen on his podcast adding a sharp perspective to the debate.”What Ciryl did to Tom Aspinall was terrible. And now Tom’s got some power, and Ciryl likes it back, and Tom’s giving him a swap.” Tom Aspinall hasn’t minced words either, addressing Gane’s accusations of ducking him with his fiery rebuttal.

“I don’t think that’s very accurate,” said the Englishman. “The UFC didn’t want me to fight Curtis. They wanted me to fight Ciryl, and Ciryl didn’t want to. And I don’t know what’s going on with his schedule, I have no idea. The guy’s living his own life, he’s doing his acting thing. If that’s what makes him happy and that’s what he wants to do, I completely respect it. But let’s not act like you wanted to fight me, because it isn’t accurate.”

And that’s just the start. Aspinall pointed out Gane’s history of skipping tough matchups. “He’s dismissed me on multiple occasions and I’m not the first guy he’s dismissed, I’m not the first guy that he’s ducked. The reason that I got the Pavlovich fight is because Ciryl didn’t want it. So he ducked Pavlovich, and he then ducked Curtis Blaydes… I asked for him years ago, (he)didn’t want it then.”

Why does Gane keep slipping away from high-stakes fights? Is it strategy, or something more? For Aspinall, it’s clear, it’s Gane’s pattern.

Ciryl Gane-Alexander Volkov bout, redemption or further chaos?

This isn’t just a story of power dynamics in the heavyweight division, it’s a tale of payback. Chael Sonnen emphasized how the tables have turned since Ciryl Gane once held the cards in the relationship. Yet, he warned, “That doesn’t last forever right? I mean, at some point it’s equitable, you get even. Now let’s go out and do the fight.” The sentiment feels like a ticking clock, one where the window for retribution could close as quickly as it opened.

Sonnen’s commentary on the situation ties into an old-school ethos of fairness and competition. He highlighted the potential for the matchup to have happened long ago, saying, “It works to the point that it could have been done two years ago. It works to the point that it was attempted to have been done at Madison Square Garden of last year.” The question now is whether Aspinall is ready to move past the bad blood. Or whether Gane’s time has simply run out.

‘Bon Gamin’ will step into the octagon at UFC 310 later this week, facing #3 contender Alexander Volkov in a crucial matchup. The Frenchman who hasn’t fought since his dominant win over Serghei Spivac, now faces the tall order of proving he deserves another crack at UFC gold.

While heavyweight remains entangled in the ongoing Jones-Aspinall drama heading into 2025, Gane’s upcoming fight with Volkov could throw another wrench into the mix. What do you think will unfold after UFC 310? With the heavyweight division as unpredictable as ever, let us know your thoughts about the Aspinall-Gane saga in the comments below!