UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall earned the right to challenge for the undisputed title, but there's no immediate resolution for him. UFC CEO Dana White somehow elevated and diminished Aspinall's accomplishments in the same breath.
Aspinall successfully defended his interim title against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July, only the fourth time in UFC's 31-year history that an interim title was defended. An interim champion is traditionally rewarded with a title unifier, but Aspinall has been forced to wait since November 2023 for UFC to book their preferred title fight between heavyweight champ Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. White claimed Aspinall hadn't earned anything -- despite having more heavyweight title defenses than Jones -- while also praising him as the future of the UFC heavyweight division.
"What he did to Curtis Blaydes, the way he did it and how fast he did it, there is no doubt this guy is a scary dude and he looks like the future of the heavyweight division," White told combat sports reporter Kevin Iole. "But at the same time, he's working his way up. He's climbing up the ladder. Everyone says, 'He deserves this and he deserves that.' The dude doesn't deserve anything. He looks great and he looks like he's going to be the guy.
"You have Stipe and Jon -- who have paid their dues, they've been here forever, they've fought everybody and they've fought everybody, they've fought all the fights you can possibly fight -- these guys deserve to fight each other. Whoever wins that fight, I think they owe it to Aspinall to fight him and give him the opportunity that they've been given."
During the interview, White claimed that Miocic will "100% retire" after fighting Miocic. White also said he'd be "shocked' if Jones didn't want to fight Aspinall despite Jones publicly diminishing Aspinall in favor of fights against Miocic and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
