Paul Browne The Game Plan interview on Aspinall, Gane and Nunes

In the Paul Browne The Game Plan interview, Browne told The Game Plan that he is unsure whether Tom Aspinall will return after his eye injury, sees Ciryl Gane as a difficult step up for Josh Hockett, and gives both Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes a chance to win their fight. He also discussed the heavyweight division, a middleweight matchup and the altercation involving Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab.

What did Paul Browne say about Tom Aspinall’s injury and the UFC heavyweight division?

Paul Browne said Tom Aspinall’s absence makes the heavyweight title picture at Madison Square Garden bittersweet: a card with two title fights could have featured Aspinall against Ciryl Gane. Browne questioned whether Aspinall would want to return after his eye injury and the criticism he received following UFC 321, while arguing that the division needs a new story.

Tom Aspinall’s uncertain return

Browne felt Aspinall took unfair criticism after the incident at UFC 321. He said some fans accused the fighter of exaggerating his injury. Considering the possibility of an injury to his eyesight, family responsibilities and the reaction from fans, Browne was reluctant to assume Aspinall would work his way back into the cage.

Browne put his uncertainty plainly:

I don't know if we ever see him back in there again

That was Browne’s assessment, not an announcement about Aspinall’s plans. He said he felt bad for the fighter and wondered how much it would take to return to a situation in which, in Browne’s view, Aspinall had not been made to feel welcome by some fans or the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

How the heavyweight title picture stalled

Browne traced the division’s uncertainty back to Jon Jones beating Gane for the belt. Jones was then out for a long period, he said, while a proposed fight with Stipe Miocic was pushed back. Aspinall beat Sergei Pavlovich to become interim champion, but Browne felt the insistence on Jones versus Miocic left the division in limbo. With the Aspinall story now unresolved, he wants attention to turn to the contenders who can fight.

How does Paul Browne see Ciryl Gane vs Josh Hockett?

Paul Browne sees Ciryl Gane as a strong favorite against Josh Hockett because Hockett’s speed and athleticism may not give him their usual advantage. Browne called the title fight a major increase in competition for Hockett, though he said Hockett’s wrestling creates an unanswered question about how the matchup will play out.

Hockett has made people talk about the heavyweight division and won the fights put in front of him, Browne said. But he drew a distinction between facing Gane and Hockett’s previous opponents, including Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes. Browne also pointed to what Gane did against Alex Padilla as evidence of the champion’s level.

Gane is three inches taller than Hockett and has a reach advantage, according to Browne. Hockett has stood out for his speed against other opponents, but Browne was not convinced he would be faster than Gane. He expects the difference in opposition to be one of the fight’s central tests.

Browne left room for Hockett’s grappling to matter, recalling that he took Lewis down with a double leg. He cautioned against treating Gane’s loss to Jones as proof that his grappling remains the same: that fight was some time ago, and Browne expects Gane to be better prepared.

What did Paul Browne say about Kayla Harrison vs Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko?

Paul Browne made a case for both Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes, calling Nunes the fighter most capable of stopping Harrison while questioning how a long layoff might affect her. He also raised Harrison’s serious neck injury as an unknown. A possible future fight involving Valentina Shevchenko interested him, but he was uncertain when she might return.

Harrison’s activity and Nunes’s layoff

Harrison has been more active and has continued winning, Browne said, although she too has spent time out of the octagon. Nunes has been away considerably longer. For Browne, the question is whether a fighter can return from that kind of break with her abilities still at their peak.

He balanced that concern against Nunes’s well-rounded skills and record against other titleholders. Browne also wondered what condition Harrison would be in after her neck injury. He did not pick a winner; the questions surrounding both women were precisely why he found the fight compelling.

Shevchenko and the next wave of women’s MMA

Browne said he is a fan of Shevchenko but was concerned by the lack of discussion about her return after she vacated her belt. If Harrison wins, he doubts she will have anything left to chase in her division. If Nunes wins and Shevchenko chooses to return, he could see a fight between them.

Looking beyond those possibilities, Browne said the sport needs another wave of women to become its leading names as Harrison, Nunes and Shevchenko approach the later stages of their careers. His concern was about who will take that place, rather than a prediction that any one of the three has already finished fighting.

Which fight outside the title bouts most interests Paul Browne?

Paul Browne picked the middleweight fight between Caio Borralho and Yousri Belgaroui as the card’s standout competitive matchup outside the two title fights. He sees it as a major step up for Belgaroui, who was three fights into his UFC career, and a difficult stylistic assignment for the more experienced Borralho.

Browne praised Belgaroui’s striking, Dutch kickboxing style and height, and noted that he trains with Alex Padilla. Borralho is well-rounded, Browne said, but tends to do his best work on the feet. That could put him opposite a fighter with an advantage in the part of the contest he usually favors.

The stakes interested Browne as much as the style matchup. A win over Borralho would move Belgaroui into a different middleweight discussion, he said, while Borralho wants to take the next step toward being considered a title contender. Browne mentioned other undercard fighters, but this was the contest he most wanted to assess on sporting terms.

What did Paul Browne say about the Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab altercation?

Paul Browne said he would be surprised if the altercation involving Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab stopped Nurmagomedov from joining the UFC. He criticized the conduct he believed later clips showed, while acknowledging that his first reaction to footage from the RAF event was to question whether it was a publicity stunt.

The RAF footage and Paul Hughes’s account

After seeing more clips, Browne said he believed people had been hit and that the confrontation was real. He also pointed to comments from his fellow Irishman Paul Hughes, who fought Nurmagomedov twice, and described accounts of trouble involving their supporters at weigh-ins in Dubai. Those were Browne’s characterizations of the incidents, not findings he presented as independently established.

Despite his criticism, Browne called Nurmagomedov one of the best fighters at 155 pounds. He noted that Ali Abdelaziz had said there had been no talks about a UFC deal, but Browne believed the signs pointed toward a signing. In his view, the attention around the altercation could make Nurmagomedov recognizable to UFC fans before he fights there.

A possible Ilia Topuria fight

Browne would watch a future Nurmagomedov fight with Ilia Topuria, particularly with a story already developing around the fighters. He would first like to see Topuria face Paddy Pimblett. Putting everyone connected to the dispute on the same card, however, struck him as potentially too chaotic.

What did Paul Browne share about boxing and his interests outside MMA?

Paul Browne chose boxing as his favorite sport outside MMA because he is involved in the Irish scene as an announcer. He also spoke about watching Katie Taylor’s retirement bout in Dublin, named teammate Adam Darby as a fighter to watch, and shared his choices in films, television, food and prospective interview guests.

Katie Taylor and Adam Darby

Browne said he was one of 83,000 people at Taylor’s retirement bout at Croke Park and was able to ask her questions at the post-fight press conference. He called her an icon. Asked about an underrated fighter, he chose Darby, his teammate, who had won on Contender Series and was due to make his UFC debut in the new year.

Films, food and a dream interview

His film choices included the first Rocky, both of the first two Godfather films and Scarface; he also remembered watching martial arts films as a child. The Sopranos was his clear television pick. Browne said he generally eats clean but likes burritos, and chose Dustin Poirier as the fighter he would most like to interview. He shares his own work through his Paul Browne MMA page and Fighters Only.