In late June, Jon Jones finally vacated the UFC’s heavyweight division after holding it hostage for more than 800 days, which allowed interim champion Tom Aspinall to claim the undisputed title without even stepping into the Octagon. Now, months later, the Briton will defend his belt tomorrow in Abu Dhabi against Ciryl Gane. However, a few weeks ahead of the fight, Aspinall sent shockwaves through the MMA world in a candid interview when he revealed that if his teammate Ante Delija continues climbing the division, he would “rather vacate the title than fight him.”

Unsurprisingly, the comments drew the ire of UFC CEO Dana White, who said, “I hate that,” while adding that under his promotion, “many friends, relatives have fought each other before.” In the end, White left the decision entirely to Tom Aspinall. Now, with UFC 321 just hours away, the latest update from Aspinall’s camp has turned heads among fans and critics alike, as the champion’s team has outlined a clear timeline for his potential departure.

Could Tom Aspinall vacate his belt following UFC 321?

From the beginning, Tom Aspinall aimed to make history as the first fighter to hand Jon Jones a legitimate defeat. Instead, events unfolded far differently than he, his coach, and father, Andy Aspinall, had envisioned. Tom held the interim belt for more than 500 days, during which he received little from UFC CEO Dana White beyond false hope. His team pressed White to strip Jones, who repeatedly “ducked” Aspinall. Andy Aspinall did not hold back in criticizing the UFC’s approach, accusing the promotion of failing to provide his son with opponents, a move that stalled both his career and his prime.

Andy Aspinall also took aim at the organization’s pay structure compared to boxing, saying, “Somebody as talented as Tom shouldn’t have a piece of that [boxing] money,” said Andy Aspinall. More recently, speaking about his son’s future, Andy hinted at a potential switch to boxing while talking 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.”

It is clear that Tom Aspinall has no plans to vacate his heavyweight title after UFC 321. According to his father, the Briton still has three fights left in his UFC contract before potentially transitioning to boxing—and why not? The promotion wasted Aspinall’s potential, and now, at 32, he has to make the most of the few prime years remaining. A move to boxing could prove far more lucrative, especially considering Francis Ngannou’s stint. With years of experience training alongside legendary fighters like Tyson Fury and coach Peter Fury, Tom Aspinall could realistically earn millions stepping into the ring.

Andy Aspinall is unhappy with the promotion’s treatment of his son

Earlier this year, tensions between Dana White and Tom Aspinall’s camp reached a boiling point. White had previously assured Aspinall — and even the fans — that his long-awaited title unification bout with Jon Jones would happen “100%.” But what followed completely contradicted that promise. In June, as the MMA world celebrated the UFC’s debut event in Azerbaijan, White dropped a bombshell during the post-fight press conference, revealing that Jon Jones had called him the night before to announce his retirement.

The UFC CEO casually broke the news to the media but failed to inform Aspinall personally. Instead, Aspinall learned of his promotion through a brief text message from UFC executive Hunter Campbell, simply stating that he was now the world champion. Andy Aspinall was far from pleased, believing his son had been robbed of the moment he truly deserved.

Speaking to Petesy Carroll, Andy said, “I can’t think of a worse way to do it, maybe if they had woken us up to tell us it would’ve been worse. I sent a message back to Hunter saying, ‘I can’t think of a worse way you could have done it. I just think it’s, I don’t know if pathetic is the word. I just feel they didn’t think about it. For me, the heavyweight championship of an organization is quite a big thing, and I don’t think Tom deserved to find out at a press conference in the middle of the night.”

Considering these remarks, many fans and analysts believe Dana White and the UFC’s treatment of Tom Aspinall was deeply disrespectful to a reigning heavyweight champion. What do you think—was the situation handled unfairly? And should he fight out his contract and move on to ‘greener’ pastures? Share your thoughts below.