Oct 24, 2025
3 min read
Tom Captaksi draws from Dana Belok following comments about volating the title for personal reasons.
At UFC Fight Night Paris, Ante Delija defeated top-10 heavyweight Marcin Tybura in his debut fight.And just like that, "Walking Trouble" shot down the ranks in just one appearance 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 this matchup is sure to attract attention.However, there is one issue that Dana White is not too happy about this potential showdown.
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That's because Delija has now moved to Manchester from Croatia to become one of the reigning heavyweight champion's main training partners.After spending time training together, the two have formed a strong bond.So when Tom Aspinall was asked on the ShxtsnGigs podcast if he would fight his teammate in the future, the 265-pound champion responded, "I'm quitting and he can have his time."While there is real emotion behind the champion's words, the UFC CEO doesn't seem too happy about the idea that he would give up the title just to avoid facing his teammate.
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Dana White clarifies his stance on Tom Aspinall vacating the heavyweight title
In a TNT Sports interview with Aam Catterall, Dana White said, "You know what I think about it before you ask me. I hate it, you know. A lot of friends, family members, you name it, fought each other. Well, it doesn't determine whether you're friends with someone or whether you hate someone. You're competing against them to see who's the best."
Also, the UFC CEO is no stranger to refusing to challenge his teammates when they are in the same division.Despite being the number one contender, Merab Dvlishvili has refused to fight against the bantamweight champion, Aljamine Sterling.Here the situation is quite similar.He also dismissed Tom Aspinall's decision.Free to award, vacate or continue as champion.
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White added: "But it's his decision. These guys, when you're a world champion and defending a title and doing what he does. It's absolutely crazy to think about giving up because you don't want to compete with somebody. But he's a grown man, it's up to him."
So if the British Priest stays on top until his team makes progress, he will generate progress and emotion whether he fights him or leaves the belt.But we'll see when the time comes.However, with Aspinall facing a heart in the future, he will also be in the spotlight at UFC 321 to make a statement.
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Jon Ennick believes the heavyweight champion will be under a lot of pressure at UFC 321
At UFC 321, we will see Tom Aspinall defend his heavyweight belt for the first time against Cyril Gain.And now, he is the heavy favorite to beat his opponent in Abu Dhabi.Well, the British Juggernaut's appreciation will be enough to make him the favorite in any fight.However, Aspinall is under pressure from fans who believe he really should beat Jon Jones.brought up that he needs 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 raises a valid point here.There is a possibility that Aspinall pushes too early to make a statement and ends up getting eliminated in the later rounds.Daniel Cormier also hinted at a similar possibility.So while we're talking about the British champion's first title defense, we're almost looking at a clinical fight in UFC 321.
However, do you think Tom Aspinall will defeat Cyril Gane at UFC 321 to retain his title and eventually face his partner in the future?Let us know in the comments below.
