At UFC Fight Night Paris, Ante Delija knocked out top-10 heavyweight Marcin Tybura in his debut fight. And just like that, ‘Walking Trouble’ crashed into the rankings with just one performance and became a serious contender for the heavyweight title. If the Croatian scores one or two more solid wins, he could be knocking on the door to face Tom Aspinall for the belt, and that matchup would definitely catch some eyes. However, there’s a problem that Dana White isn’t too happy about regarding this possible showdown.

It’s because Delija has now moved from Croatia to Manchester to become one of the main training partners of the reigning heavyweight champion. After spending some time training together, both have built a strong bond. So, when Tom Aspinall was asked on the ShxtsnGigs Podcast whether he would fight his teammate in the future, the 265-pound champ said, “I’ll vacate it and he can have his time.” Although there’s genuine emotion behind the champion’s words, the UFC CEO doesn’t seem too happy with the idea of him giving up the title just to avoid facing his teammate.

Dana White clears his stance on Tom Aspinall vacating the heavyweight title  

At the TNT sports interview with Aam Catterall, Dana White stated, “You know what I think about that, before you even ask me. I hate that, you know. Many friends, relatives, name it, have all fought each other before. Well, it doesn’t determine whether you’re friends with somebody or you hate somebody. You’re competing against them to see who the best is.” 

Well, teammates refusing to fight each other while staying in the same division isn’t an unfamiliar situation for the UFC CEO. He faced a similar issue in the bantamweight division when Merab Dvalishvili refused to fight former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at all costs, despite being the number one contender. Here too, the situation might turn out quite similar. He also mentioned that Tom Aspinall is free to make his own decision, whether he wants to vacate the title or continue as the champ.

White added, “But that’s his decision. These guys, when you become a world champion and defend 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.” 

So, if the British champion stays on top until his teammate Ante Delija climbs the rankings, it would create a pressure-filled and emotional situation, whether to fight him or vacate the belt. But that’s something we’ll see when the time comes. However, as Aspinall faces some future pressure, he’ll also be under the spotlight at UFC 321 to make a statement. 

Jon Anik believes the heavyweight champ will be under a lot of pressure at UFC 321   

At UFC 321, we’re about to witness Tom Aspinall defending the heavyweight belt for the first time against Ciryl Gane. And currently, he’s a big favorite to defeat his opponent in Abu Dhabi. Well, the British Juggernaut’s accolades would be enough to make him a favorite in any fight. Still, the fans believing that Aspinall would have actually beaten Jon Jones have put him in a pressure position that he has to make a statement in his next fight. 

Understanding that, the UFC play-by-play commentator, Jon Anik told MMA Fighting, “So I think there’s always been pressure on Tom, but because he didn’t get the Jon Jones fight and because he’s now the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, never mind the fact that he’s a 4-to-1 favorite in this crazy sport, could you imagine if, we’re all doing our podcasts and shows and talking about Tom Aspinall not holding serve as the favorite? It would be crazy, I think, in any other sport, right? 4-to-1 favorites don’t lose very often in sports. So, yeah, there’s a lot of pressure on Tommy, and I know he eats it like a f—— sandwich.” 

Anik raised a valid point here. There’s a chance that Aspinall might push too hard early on to make a statement and end up gassing out in the later rounds. Daniel Cormier has also hinted at a similar possibility. So, as talks around the British champ’s first title defense heat up, we’re almost set to witness a clinical showdown at UFC 321.

That said, do you think Tom Aspinall will defeat Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 to retain his title and eventually face his teammate in the future? Let us know in the comments below.