After eight months in limbo since Jones defended his title against Miocic, Aspinall can finally move on with his career.
At 32, Aspinall could feel he is in his prime – which is why he has promised to be an active champion, fighting any challenger anywhere.
His first opponent is Gane – someone Aspinall wanted to fight in 2023, but the contest did not come to fruition.
In many ways, Gane has received similar compliments to Aspinall throughout his UFC career, with the pair being complimented for the speed they showcase at heavyweight.
Gane is primarily a striker who controls distance with excellent footwork, but he does lack the explosive knockout power of Aspinall.
Gane’s two UFC defeats have also exposed holes in his grappling, with Ngannou controlling him on the ground in 2022 and Jones submitting him in ruthless fashion in 2023.
Because Aspinall stops his opponents so quickly – he has seven first-round finishes in the UFC – parts of his skillset still remain unknown.
However victories over Volkov in 2022 and Andrei Arlovski the previous year show how dangerous the Briton can be on the ground.
Aspinall will head into the bout as favourite but Gane will have a point to prove after coming up short twice before when fighting for undisputed gold.
