Tom Aspinall is approaching an entire year without fighting, and Dana White seems fed up with waiting around.
The Brit had a meteoric rise to UFC title contention, showcasing elite speed and destructive power to finish his opponents. The performances led many to consider him the chosen one. The man who is going to make the UFC heavyweight division great again. The man to potentially beat Jon Jones. But unfortunately, things didn’t work out as hoped. While he remains one of the best fighters in the world, Aspinall lost a large portion of his fanbase during his drawn-out saga with Jones, which led to nothing. His standing with the fans only worsened with his subsequent display against Ciryl Gane. From being one of the company’s most loved to most hated over the course of a few months has taken its toll on the champion, who is no longer in business for anybody but himself.
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As he recovers from multiple eye surgeries, news surrounding Tom Aspinall’s next fight has been quiet. And on October 25 next month, Aspinall will have been out of competition for a year. This leaves the UFC in a peculiar position. Do they wait and allow their champion to heal up, or do they take the belt as they did with Valentina Shevchenko?
Hoping Aspinall takes the Shevchenko route and vacates his title, Dana White shared his thoughts on the situation, saying:
“Yeah, we’ll definitely be talking about that. You know, it’s one of those things. Valentina doesn’t want to tie up the division. And I’m assuming Tom feels the same way.”
Further news will be released once the UFC knows if Tom Aspinall is ready to compete or needs more recovery time. White expects to talk to Aspinall’s camp soon to get a clearer picture.
“I don’t know personally where he is health-wise, with everything,” White continued. “But yeah, we should clear that up soon.”
