Tom Aspinall expects to have a long reign as UFC heavyweight champion, but there\u2019s one opponent he will never face.<\/p>\n
In the main event of UFC 321 on Oct. 25, Aspinall defends his belt against Ciryl Gane. This marks Aspinall\u2019s second title defense after he successfully defended an interim championship against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.<\/p>\n
Should Aspinall get past Gane, it\u2019s unclear who will be up next for Aspinall with the British star having knocked off several contenders on his way to the top and the division suffering from a lack of compelling challengers. One intriguing name is 2022 PFL tournament champion Ante Delija, who immediately cracked the top 10 in his UFC debut with a first-round knockout of Marcin Tybura.<\/p>\n
However, Delija just so happens to be a longtime training partner and close friend of Aspinall\u2019s. During a \u201cWould You Rather?\u201d segment on the ShxtsnGigs Podcast<\/a>, Aspinall was asked a hypothetical of if he\u2019d rather fight his best friend for the title or vacate the belt and never get it back, and the Delija situation immediately came to mind.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is actually a bit of an on-trend topic,\u201d Aspinall said. \u201cMy friend and training partner [Delija] just got to the UFC, he just got his first win and now he\u2019s in the top 10, which is like, to get your first win and he just beat a guy in the top 10, so he\u2019s potentially two or three wins away from a title shot.\u201d<\/p>\n In 11 years as a pro, Aspinall has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments, winning eight of his nine UFC fights with his only loss coming by way of a freak injury when he first fought Blaydes in July 2022. Not only did he avenge the Blaydes loss with a 60-second knockout in their rematch, Aspinall has won all 15 of his pro bouts by KO\/TKO or submission.<\/p>\n What remains to be seen is how long Aspinall can stay on top and he\u2019s hoping that after he has his run, the path will be clear for him to pass the crown on to Delija.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thing is, if I never won a title and never touched gold before, we would have to fight, because that\u2019s my dream,\u201d Aspinall said. \u201cBut now I\u2019ve done it, I would be, like, I would vacate it and he can have his time. I wouldn\u2019t fight him. No chance.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got guys who I\u2019ve trained with for years and stuff and I\u2019ve got the guys who are my genuine friends and he\u2019s one of my genuine friends, I would never – there\u2019s some stuff to me that\u2019s more important than money and titles. I\u2019ve won the title, I\u2019ve done that, and I\u2019ve got a few more in me before he\u2019s going to be up there anyway. So if none of us had won the title, and we\u2019re both in around the same time, we\u2019d have to fight because that\u2019s my dream and that\u2019s his dream. But right now I\u2019ve done it, I\u2019ve still got more to do, but I can do that more in the time that he\u2019s climbing and then when he\u2019s there I\u2019m happy to [step aside].\u201d<\/p>\n Even when it comes to his opponents, Aspinall rarely feels the kind of animosity one would expect. Case in point, Aspinall\u2019s upcoming clash with Gane once again puts him at odds with a fighter he considers himself to be on good terms with.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, though, if Aspinall is standing across the cage from someone, he only has one goal in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, I\u2019m obviously UFC heavyweight champion, doing alright for myself, getting paid and all that,\u201d Aspinall said. \u201cThat\u2019s nice. \u2018Getting the bag,\u2019 as the kids say. But ultimately, I don\u2019t want to get beat up in front of millions of people, so if it\u2019s me or them, it\u2019s got to be them. It just has to be.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, my next opponent I\u2019m fighting, Cyril Gane. I\u2019ve spent a fair bit of time with him. We\u2019ve been on a few parties together. Met each other a few times. He\u2019s a cool guy. But it\u2019s me or him. So it has to be him, simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n Roundtable. Which UFC fight are you looking forward to the most<\/a> as we close out 2025?<\/p>\n Finale. Merab Dvalishvili and Alexandre Pantoja defend their titles on the last UFC pay-per-view<\/a> of 2025.<\/p>\n Ready. Alex Pereira confident Jon Jones will be on the same page<\/a> if fight talks progress.<\/p>\n Intense. Jiri Prochazka felt he \u201chad to end\u201d<\/a> Khalil Rountree at UFC 320.<\/p>\n Prayers. The sad saga of UFC legend B.J. Penn takes another depressing turn<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reaction to UFC 323\u2019s big announcements.<\/p>\n Charles Oliveira\u2019s UFC Rio media scrum.<\/p>\n MMA Fighting\u2019s Mike Heck chats with the man of the hour, Jiri Prochazka.<\/p>\n Jos\u00e9 Youngs talks Anything But Fighting with Youssef Zalal.<\/p>\n Aljo post-marriage podcast.<\/p>\n UFC 321 just around the corner.<\/p>\n Submission Radio interview with Beneil Dariush.<\/p>\n On to the Next One. MMA Fighting\u2019s Alexander K. Lee figures out what\u2019s next for Charles Oliveira and the rest of the big winners at UFC Rio with a huge helping hand from the listeners.<\/p>\n Severe MMA.<\/a> Se\u00e1n Sheehan and Graeme McDonnell dig into the latest Conor McGregor debacle, UFC Rio results, and more.<\/p>\n SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE<\/p>\n The tears still haven\u2019t dried.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what all this means but I think it roughly translates to TITLE SHOT.<\/p>\n Merab Dvalishvili (21-4) vs. Petr Yan (19-5); UFC 323, Dec. 6<\/p>\n Alexandre Pantoja (30-5) vs. Joshua Van (15-2); UFC 323, Dec. 6<\/p>\n Henry Cejudo (16-5) vs. Payton Talbott (10-1); UFC 323, Dec. 6<\/p>\n Jan Blachowicz (29-11-1) vs. Bogdan Guskov (18-3); UFC 323, Dec. 6<\/p>\n Brandon Moreno (23-8-2) vs. Tatsuro Taira (17-1); UFC 323, Dec. 6<\/p>\n And with that, the UFC\u2019s 2025 calendar year is set!<\/p>\n Merab Dvalishvili gets his wish to attempt to defend his title four times in a calendar year, something that\u2019s never been done before, and Alexandre Pantoja gets a headlining spot on a December PPV once again.<\/p>\n If you find something you\u2019d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee<\/a> or @JedKMeshew<\/a> on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and like us on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n