Dana White is planning to get Tom Aspinall his first undisputed world heavyweight title fight within this year.
Fast-rising Brit Aspinall has been interim champion for the best part of two years, even defending his belt while waiting for a decision on Jon Jones’ future. But with the news that Jones has now officially retired, he has been elevated to undisputed heavyweight champion.
It is expected that he will now face top contender Ciryl Gane, although nothing has been confirmed as yet. Aspinall has vowed to be an active champion, and insists after two years of Jones fighting just once he will be regularly defending.
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Dana White offers timeline for Tom Aspinall’s first undisputed title fight
Dana White announced last night that Jon Jones would be hanging up his gloves and opting against fighting Tom Aspinall in a world title unification. As such, the heavyweight belt has been passed on to interim champion Aspinall who is now undisputed.
It is unclear when the Brit, who has been pushing for a fight since his quickfire win over Curtis Blaydes last summer, will fight next. But White did tell media including Bloody Elbow in a scrum today at Fanatics Fest in New York City that he expects it to be this year.
“We’ve got to figure out the rest of the year,” White confirmed after being asked if he would stay on the November date in Madison Square Garden that was pencilled in for his fight with Jones. “But Aspinall is going to land somewhere there, yeah.”
Tom Aspinall vows to stay active as UFC heavyweight champion
Aspinall was quick to take to social media last night to send a message to fans about his plans now that he has the undisputed belt. He wants to take on all comers, and has already done a solid job of knocking out top contenders including Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes.
Alongside a photo of himself with his belt and a clip of White making the news official, he wrote on Instagram after the news was announced: “For you fans. It’s time to get this Heavyweight division going. An active Undisputed Champion.”
It’s a welcome change for the division, which has had just one undisputed fight since March of 2023 when Jones faced Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. In fact, there were more interim fights as Aspinall won and defended his belt in the meantime.