As the UFC heavyweight division gears up for Saturday’s title clash between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, the discussion around loyalty and competition has taken center stage.
Earlier this week, Aspinall shared that he would rather vacate his heavyweight championship than step into the Octagon against friend and training partner Ante Delija, should Delija ever reach contender status.
The Croatian fighter, who recently scored a knockout win over Marcin Tybura in his UFC debut, has quickly become a name to watch in the division.
Aspinall said he had no interest in “blocking” the rise of someone he trains and respects deeply. That statement, however, didn’t sit well with UFC CEO Dana White.
“You know what I think about that before you even ask me,” White told TNT Fight Sports. “I hate that. Many friends, relatives, name it, have all fought each other before. It doesn’t determine whether you are friends with somebody or you hate somebody. You’re competing against someone to see who the best is, but that’s his decision.”
White continued, voicing his disbelief at the idea of a champion considering vacating a belt due to friendship.
“These guys, you become a world champion, and if he defends the title and does whatever he does, to even think about vacating it because you don’t want to compete against somebody is absolutely insane, but he’s a grown man, that’s up to him.”
Possible contenders and heavyweight direction
If Aspinall defeats Gane, there’s no guaranteed challenger waiting in line. Jailton Almeida and Alexander Volkov are set to meet on the UFC 321 undercard, and a dominant win by either could push them into contention.
Meanwhile, Alex Pereira, the reigning light heavyweight titleholder, has openly teased a future move to heavyweight. However, his focus seems to be on a potential bout with Jon Jones, rather than Aspinall.
White acknowledged the possibilities but kept the focus narrow.
“Anything is possible,” White said. “I don’t really like looking down that far talking about the light heavyweight champion moving up but I don’t know, we’ll see how things play out Saturday, obviously, and then the end of this year as far as Pereira goes and stuff like that. We’re only looking at Saturday, that’s it.”
As for Aspinall’s comments about vacating the title, White made it clear he found the conversation premature.
“Even Tom saying, ‘I’d vacate’ [if he had to fight Delija], it’s even silly to talk about that when the guy is ranked No. 10.”
Focus shifts back to UFC 321
For now, White’s attention remains firmly on the UFC 321 main event, where Aspinall defends his title against Ciryl Gane in a five-round headliner at Etihad Arena.
“Aspinall and Ciryl Gane is a very interesting fight for both guys,” White said. “Aspinall is supposed to be the future of the heavyweight divisions. He’s going to have to get through Ciryl Gane first. And for Gane, there was a point in time when it looked like he might be the future of the heavyweight division, so big fight for both of these guys.” Via MMAFighting
Whether Aspinall’s words were emotional or serious remains to be seen, but his mindset — and performance — will be tested this weekend when he faces Gane in Abu Dhabi.
