Khabib gave Tom Aspinall tactical pep talk before Ciryl Gane UFC fight
The former UFC lightweight champion was eager to pass on his knowledge to Aspinall just moments before the heavyweight's fight with Ciryl Gane
Just moments before the biggest fight of his career, Tom Aspinall was given some crucial advice by UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
It has been a whirlwind year for Aspinall. Having won the interim heavyweight title against Sergei Pavlovich two years ago, the 32-year-old successfully defended the belt months later in Manchester against rival Curtis Blaydes. The Wigan scrapper was then destined to face Jon Jones following the American's win over Stipe Miocic last November.
However, the former dual-weight world champion failed to commit to fighting Aspinall before he ended up retiring earlier this year. The Brit was then promoted to undisputed champion before being offered the chance to defend his belt against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.
As Aspinall was backstage preparing for his bout with the Frenchman, the Brit bumped into Nurmagomedov - where the Russian was cornering his cousin Umar to a crucial win against Mario Bautista. The MMA legend could be seen advising the heavyweight champion to take the fight to the ground.
"Sometimes you use boxing separate, wrestling separate. When you use everything together: wrestling, pressure, boxing, everything [It will be tough on Gane]. Because [Gane] doesn't have this ability," said Nurmagomedov. "He is a striker, he moves [well], he has good foot work... but when you use your punches and then takedown, it's going to be tough for him."
Aspinall barely got the chance to take on Nurmagomedov's advice after the fight was waved off in the first round after an eye poke rendered the Brit unable to continue. The pair were quick off the blocks early doors, but it was the challenger who enjoyed a lot of success on the backfoot.
Deep into the opening round, Gane poked his rival in both eyes. His foe was given five minutes to recover, but was unable to continue - forcing referee Jason Herzog to wave off the contest. Just moments after the conclusion of the heavyweight dust-up, the champion was rushed to hospital.
READ MORE: Tom Aspinall issues crucial update on injury after Ciryl Gane eye pokesREAD MORE: Jon Jones does not miss with response to Tom Aspinall eye poke“Guys I just got f***ing poked knuckle deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing? What am I supposed to do about it? I didn’t do the f***ing poke. I can’t see. This is bulls***. The fight was just getting going. Complete bulls***. I’m p***** off," a frustrated champion said post-fight.
"I'm very sorry about that, for the crowd, for the fans, for everybody. Sorry for Tom Aspinall, sorry for myself," said Gane. In a separate post-fight interview, the French heavyweight fighter said: "I'm a bit disappointed with the outcome of the fight... also because of the way the fight was going, because of the future."
When is the next UFC fight?
Steve Garcia will take on David Onama in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 1. The prelims are expected to get underway at around 8pm UK time (3pm ET / 12pm PT / 2pm CT), while the main card will start at 11pm UK time Sunday (6pm ET / 3pm PT / 5pm CT).
In the main event, Onama will likely make the walk to the cage first at around 2am UK time Sunday (9pm ET / 6pm PT / 8pm CT). Fans in the United Kingdom will be able to watch all the action live on TNT Sports.
