Tom Aspinall reacts to Paris press conference boos: 'Just loads of French people screaming'

08/09/2025 18:00

Tom Aspinall isn't sweating the negative reaction he received in Paris ahead of his title defense against France's own Ciryl Gane.

The UFC 321 headliners recently took the stage at a press conference for the Oct. 25 pay-per-view and, unsurprisingly, Aspinall received a chilly reception as soon as he took the microphone. French fans booed lustily as Aspinall tried to speak, essentially forcing Aspinall to concede the floor to his opponent.

Aspinall addressed the incident on his YouTube channel, brushing it off as business as usual.

"It was alright," Aspinall said. "Nothing special, was it? Just loads of French people screaming for Ciryl, which was to be expected. Kept it short and sweet, there's not a lot to say when every time you speak they just boo dead loud."

By the end of the UFC 321 press conference, Aspinall managed to get a few points in, including that he was done talking about Jon Jones and is focused solely on defending his heavyweight title against Gane.

No matter what Aspinall said, though, the large majority of fans in attendance didn't seem interested in hearing it.

"A lot of booing," Aspinall said. "I was expecting the booing. We're in Paris, aren't we, that's where's from, of course I'm going to get booed. I ain't bothered. It's like a circus, isn't it? I'm expecting that. … To be honest, I couldn't hear half of it. So after a bit I just started forgetting about the booing and just cracked on."

Aspinall's father and coach Andy also weighed in on the incident, sounding glad that the Paris stop was over and done with.

"They just booed and it got a bit monotonous repeating everything, you have to do that, don't you?" Andy said. "It doesn't make any difference to a fight. It's just one of those things that has to be done. Tick that box, move on to the next one. That's good, it's off Tom's to-do list."