Dana White has said he ‘hates’ Tom Aspinall’s claim that he would not fight his friend Ante Delija, after the British champion said he would rather vacate his title.
On Saturday, in the main event of UFC 321, Aspinall defends the undisputed heavyweight title for the first time, having been elevated from interim champion this summer.
Aspinall, 32, was elevated after then-champion Jon Jones retired and gave up the undisputed belt, and now the Briton faces Ciryl Gane.
If Aspinall overcomes the Frenchman in Abu Dhabi, it might not be long before the UFC asks him to take on his friend and training partner Delija.
Delija debuted in the UFC in September with a knockout win over Marcin Tybura, which saw him surge straight into the heavyweight top 10. And when Aspinall was asked if he would face the Croat, 35, he gave an emphatic answer this month.
“The thing is, if I’d never won a title, [if] I’d never touched gold before, I’d be like: ‘We have to fight,’” Aspinall said on the ShxtsnGigs Podcast. “Because that’s my dream.
“But now I’ve done it, I’d be like: ‘I’ll vacate it, and he can have his time.’ I wouldn’t fight him. No chance, no chance. He’s one of my genuine friends, I would never… There’s some stuff to me that’s more important than money and titles.
“And like I say: I’ve won the title, I’ve done that. I’ve got a few more [title defences] in me before he’s gonna be up there anyway, so… I’ve still got more to do, but I can do that ‘more’ in the time that it takes him to [climb the rankings]. When he’s there, I’m happy to [vacate the title].”
Responding to those words, White told TNT Sports:“You know what I think about that. I hate that.
“Many friends, relatives – name it – have all fought each other before. It doesn’t [matter] whether you are friends with somebody or you hate somebody; you’re competing with them to see who the best is.
“But that’s his decision. 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.”
Aspinall last fought in July 2024, making the rare decision to defend the interim title. Fighting on home soil in Manchester, the Wigan heavyweight knocked out Curtis Blaydes in barely a minute.
On Saturday, he faces a fellow former interim champion in Gane, who has twice failed to win the undisputed belt. The 35-year-old, who last fought in December and controversially outpointed Alexander Volkov, lost titles fights with Francis Ngannou in 2022 and Jones in 2023.
