Tom Aspinall’s father is not happy with how the UFC has handled his son’s career. While tensions between the two sides have simmered in the last few years, they significantly escalated earlier this year when Andy Aspinall publicly criticized UFC CEO Dana White over the delayed announcement of the title unification bout between his son and Jon Jones. In particular, his father has frequently slammed the promotion for ‘wasting’ his son’s prime years.

The situation deteriorated further when Jon Jones announced his retirement without ever facing Tom Aspinall. Shortly afterward, Hunter Campbell, a UFC executive, texted Tom to inform him of his official promotion to undisputed heavyweight champion status. According to Andy Aspinall, this was a “worse way” for a fighter to discover he was UFC champion. Since then, relations between the UFC and Aspinall’s camp have remained tense, and with the latest developments, the rift now appears all but irreparable.

Andy Aspinall reveals Tom Aspinall may not look to re-sign with UFC

Tom Aspinall is in Abu Dhabi, set to face Ciryl Gane in his first title defense at UFC 321 tomorrow. The bout will mark his 10th appearance in the UFC, and he still has three fights left on his current contract. Despite his rising career, Aspinall’s father is cautious about him continuing in the UFC. Recently, discussing his son’s future, Andy Aspinall hinted at a potential move to boxing while speaking to RMC Sports Combat: “Boxing, for sure. The money is, more money, like why not?… He(Tom) has three more fights on the contract now. And I don’t want to sign a new contract.”

At 32, Tom Aspinall has only a few peak years left before reaching 40, making the timing of his career decisions rather critical. However, it is not just financial considerations that concern Andy Aspinall; he has previously stressed that he wants his son to retire in a “healthy” way rather than risk an injury. A move into boxing now could provide the perfect opportunity, reflecting his father’s view of the timing. Venturing into the sport would also allow Aspinall to capitalize on his popularity, similar to former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who reportedly earned $30 million from two boxing matches after his departure from the UFC.

For Tom Aspinall, the promotion largely wasted his golden years, and a move into boxing now presents an opportunity to maximize the remainder of his prime. Few may know that Aspinall previously attempted to develop his career in boxing under the guidance of the Fury family alongside the former world heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury. He secured one boxing victory, but complications and corruption reportedly got in the way.

Aspinall admits ‘corruption’ cut short his boxing opportunity

Despite strong support from his parents, Tom Aspinall faced a challenging path in the fight world. Early on, the absence of a nearby BJJ gym forced his father to leave his job and open a BJJ school 21 years ago. When the Brit reached puberty, a sudden growth spurt caused body pains. While his size eventually became an advantage, finding suitable sparring and training partners remained difficult. Their search for proper guidance eventually brought Tom and Andy Aspinall to the legendary boxing coach Peter Fury’s gym, where Tom refined his striking under the guidance of Tyson Fury.

This proved beneficial for Aspinall, as the Furys also helped him secure MMA fights. Yet, many of these bouts were repeatedly canceled. Reflecting on that period, Tom told Demetrious Johnson, “And they just kept seeing me like book fights, the fight would get cancelled, and then I’d be back to square one. It’d go like that for a bit. So, then it was a little bit like, ‘Well, why don’t you just box?’ So, I was like, ‘They’ve got a point.’”

During that time, Aspinall was booked for 11 fights, but five of them were canceled.  Speaking about the corruption he faced, he added, “Even though I opted to box a little, I had no chance of rising in the sport. Yeah. I’m just gonna box for a little bit. Anyway, long story short, I did that for a couple of years. That didn’t work out. Like I thought it was going to… That’s corrupt as hell in this country.”

Looking ahead, what does the future hold for Tom Aspinall in boxing? If the Briton makes the switch, could he achieve even greater success than Francis Ngannou? Share your thoughts in the comments below.