{"id":359716,"date":"2026-07-02T12:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T06:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=359716"},"modified":"2026-07-02T12:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T06:33:29","slug":"why-daniel-cormiers-real-heavyweight-claim-involving-tom-aspinall-played-out-after-tough-challenge-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/why-daniel-cormiers-real-heavyweight-claim-involving-tom-aspinall-played-out-after-tough-challenge-prediction\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Daniel Cormier’s ‘real heavyweight’ claim involving Tom Aspinall played out after ‘tough challenge’ prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Follow us on Google Discover<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Daniel Cormier\u2019s major point featured British MMA star Tom Aspinall at the guts of it and showed the standout detail concerning the UFC\u2019s current heavyweight division.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tom Aspinall has been out of the octagon since his first UFC heavyweight title defence led to a no-contest result against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in 2025.<\/p>\n

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Ciryl Gane by chance poked Aspinall in the attention and the 33-year-old heavyweight champion was unable to proceed beyond the primary round on the Etihad Arena.<\/p>\n

Aspinall had surgery on each of his eyes in early 2026 for a rare condition that he had and the Salford-born fighter is now targeting a return to the MMA octagon.<\/p>\n

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Tom Aspinall vs the UFC: Whose side are you on? \ud83d\udc40<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Split image of Eddie Hearn with Tom Aspinall. and Dana White with Hunter Campbell. Credit: Richard Pelham\/Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Daniel Cormier singled out Tom Aspinall for the challenge that Alex Pereira faced against Ciryl Gane<\/h2>\n

Tom Aspinall revealed late last month that he had been cleared to return to \u201cfull training\u201d and was in \u201ctalks\u201d with the UFC over his rematch with Ciryl Gane.<\/p>\n

Gane arrange a second encounter with Aspinall after the 36-year-old French UFC star won the interim heavyweight title against Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250.<\/p>\n

Alex Pereira made his debut at heavyweight and the 38-year-old Brazilian MMA fighter suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Gane on the White House-hosted event.<\/p>\n

Speaking ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 card, which was recently uploaded to YouTube<\/a>, Daniel Cormier explained that Gane was a \u201creal heavyweight\u201d in his eyes.<\/p>\n

Cormier added that Gane was the hardest test that Pereira could have taken for his heavyweight debut outside of facing UFC title holder Aspinall.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s [Gane] an actual heavyweight,\u201d he told MMA fans during a live Q&A in June.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, if he goes on the market and he fights like an actual heavyweight, it\u2019s a tricky challenge for Alex.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt truly is the toughest fight for him within the division outside of Tom Aspinall. And that\u2019s why you see the betting line where it’s, where Ciryl Gane is definitely a favourite.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Has Tom Aspinall risked his relationship with the UFC and Dana White?\ud83d\ude2c<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Tom Aspinall signs cope with Eddie Hearn. Credit: Instagram\/@eddiehearn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

UFC legend Daniel Cormier pinpointed the large difference between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane<\/h2>\n

Cormier was asked how he would have coached Gane for the Pereira fight at UFC White House had he been within the interim heavyweight champion\u2019s corner.<\/p>\n

The 47-year-old UFC legend claimed that the scales were already tipped in Gane\u2019s favour due to his weight going into the Pereira encounter last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if I\u2019m Ciryl Gane, I\u2019m just telling him to be exactly who he\u2019s been,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a heavyweight, man. I said this the opposite day to Alex. I am going\u2026 or Ciryl [and] I said, \u2018When was the last time you weighed?\u2019 I said 84 kilos because they\u2019re, you realize, French kilos?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe [Gane] goes, \u2018I used to be 15.\u2019 I said, \u2018Pereira made that weight two years ago.\u2019 Ciryl Gane has not weighed 185 kilos since he was 15 years old. He\u2019s 37 now \u2014 22 years [ago], he\u2019s an actual heavyweight.\u201d<\/p>\n

A rematch between Gane and Aspinall for the UFC heavyweight title has not been officially confirmed, despite being within the works in the intervening time.<\/p>\n

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Follow us on Google Discover Daniel Cormier\u2019s major point featured British MMA star Tom Aspinall at the guts of it and showed the standout detail concerning the UFC\u2019s current heavyweight division. Tom Aspinall has been out of the octagon since his first UFC heavyweight title defence led to a no-contest result against Ciryl Gane at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":359717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[10085,399,6146,37283,7554,1097,9387,644,3595,1800,4740,3434],"class_list":["post-359716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-aspinall","tag-challenge","tag-claim","tag-cormiers","tag-daniel","tag-heavyweight","tag-involving","tag-played","tag-prediction","tag-real","tag-tom","tag-tough"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t