The heavyweight title picture in the UFC remains clouded as champion Tom Aspinall continues to recover from eye injuries sustained in his October clash with Cyril Gane at UFC 321.
Speaking on their Believe You Me podcast, Michael Bisping and Paul Felder discussed the uncertain championship landscape and the possibility that reigning light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) could step in to face Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for the heavyweight belt, or even an interim title.
The conversation was sparked by a cryptic social media post from Pereira.
“Alex Pereira comes out and puts that kind of cryptic post out there saying, ‘one, two, three go. I think it’s go time,’” Felder said. “You think it’s him and Cyril Gane?”
Bisping acknowledged the intrigue of that matchup but admitted the optics surrounding Gane’s position are complicated.
“This isn’t right because it’s like the guy that committed the foul is being rewarded,” Bisping said, referencing the eye pokes that left Aspinall injured. “But again, life’s not fair. Sometimes it’s not a fair world, you know what I mean?”
Bisping then pivoted into a broader reflection on professional sports and personal responsibility.
“You make your own reality, you make your own fortune, you got to get out of bed every day, and because no one else cares about you, they really don’t,” he said. “The only person that gives a s*** about you — not the government, not people at work, no one. The only person that cares about you is you, your wife, your kids, and you got your little family unit. And you focus on you guys.”
While expressing sympathy for Aspinall,” Bisping ultimately framed Gane as the division’s most viable option in the champion’s absence.
“But I would say that right now, Cyril Gane is the man,” Bisping continued. “Because he was fighting for the undisputed belt, he was doing well. Alex Pereira versus Cyril Gane is a bloody good matchup.”
Felder agreed. “It’s a great matchup,” he said. “And, you know, it was going to be Tom and Cyril in a rematch. And obviously, Tom is still dealing with the eye stuff. And that absolutely sucks.”
