Daniel Cormier has come to the defence of Ciryl Gane.
Ever since that controversial night at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi last October, the French fighter’s style has been a talking point.
Tom Aspinall’s first defence of the undisputed heavyweight title ended in chaos when he suffered two severe eye pokes from Gane, leading to a no-contest.
Afterwards, the Briton did not hold back, accusing Gane of cheating. Others soon began highlighting fouls from Gane’s earlier fights as well.
Now, Cormier has spoken out against those claims, defending Gane.
Daniel Cormier does not think Ciryl Gane meant to hurt Tom Aspinall
Speaking on a recent episode of Funky and the Champ, ‘DC’ weighed in on whether Ciryl Gane meant to poke Tom Aspinall in the eyes.
Ben Askren, who co-hosts the show with Cormier, was the first to raise doubts about it being intentional, noting how difficult it would be to land such a precise foul.
“I feel like the ability to poke someone in the eye from space, that’s kinda hard. And if you could be that accurate, why wouldn’t you just punch them in the eye?” Askren questioned.
Cormier backed up that view and highlighted how often unintentional fouls occur during fast-paced exchanges.
“Poking somebody in the eye, for the most part, is by accident,” ‘DC’ said.
“There are things that happen in the Octagon, and things are moving so fast, right?
“I was more inclined to believe that it was an accident. Tom Aspinall doesn’t…he thinks without a shadow of a doubt Ciryl Gane poked him on purpose.
“I don’t believe it.”
Tom Aspinall sees Ciryl Gane in a very different light
But Aspinall does not see it the same way.
The heavyweight champion firmly believes the Frenchman uses fouls to his advantage and has made it clear he plans to make Gane answer for it.
During an interview with One on One, the Briton said: “I’m not even thinking about (retiring) because you’ve got to take one step at a time, don’t you?
“Obviously the plan is to go back and beat the living daylights out of Ciryl Gane, that’s the plan.
“But right now, the short-term plan is to get back to where I should be and get back in the gym.”
Aspinall’s return remains up in the air as he recovers from double eye surgery following injuries sustained from Gane’s pokes.
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