WAYNE ROONEY sent Tom Aspinall a good luck message ahead of his bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
The Manchester United legend was in attendance at the clash in Abu Dhabi while celebrating his 40th birthday.
Aspinall locks horns with Gane on Saturday night after a 14-month lay-off as he attempts to defend his UFC heavyweight title against the two-time title challenger.
It promises to be a huge moment for Aspinall, who is making the first defence of his crown since being upgraded from interim to undisputed champion.
The pressure is on Aspinall to show that he is worthy of that upgrade and Rooney was watching on in the crowd to send him some well wishes.
The official UFC account on X filmed the former England captain giving a message to the heavyweight champ.
ASPINALL VS GANE
Champ taken to hospital after eye poke as Dana White confirms next fight
ON THE BOX
How to watch Joseph Parker vs Fabio Wardley for £24.99 – live stream & TV guide
The ex-striker said he was hoping for an Aspinall win to cap off his birthday celebrations after jetting out to the Middle East.
Rooney, in attendance in the arena, said: “Hi I’m just here at the UFC. Looking forward to watching Tom Aspinall fight tonight.
“Hope he gets the win and brings it back to England. All the best Tom!”
Aspinall had his interim title bumped up in June after Jon Jones retired to cap off a “frustrating” saga for the Wigan star.
The pair were set to throw down at Madison Square Garden next month before ‘Bones’ scrapped their highly-anticipated bout by quitting the sport – only to then U-turn on his decision.
Aspinall said: “I’m just ready to do my thing now. I’m ready to do my thing as a champion.
“I’ve worked my way up from nothing to this. And I obviously want to keep the position that I’m in… So I’m very excited about it.
“I wanted to fight the whole time. But unfortunately, that opportunity got taken away from me multiple times. It was nothing to do with myself.
“It was a little bit frustrating, but it’s all in the past now. Once something’s done, I try not to think about it too much.
“I’m just trying to focus on what I’ve got to do. And what I’ve got to do is beat Cyril Gane on Saturday. So I’m just focusing on that.”
Aspinall warned that Gane would be “much trickier” than many of his other heavyweight rivals.
He said: “He’s not going to stand and bang in the middle, and he’s not going to be a punch bag that I can hit easily.
COOL OFF
I’ve been to over 50 countries – here are my cheap winter sun hols with £11 hotels
UNMASKED
Chilling unheard tapes reveal how cops tore apart smirking serial killer Ted Bundy
“I’ve got to be really calculated and use my brain in this one a little bit more.”
He added: “I’ve prepared for this fight for a long time. If it has to go five rounds, I’m ready to go five. But if I can finish it earlier, I absolutely will do.”
Read the full article here
