Dana White ‘Hates’ Tom Aspinall’s Controversial Stance Ahead of UFC 321 Fight

Dana White has responded to Tom Aspinall's "insane" stance ahead of his UFC 321 main event this week.

Aspinall takes on Cyril Gane in Abu Dhabi on Saturday in the first defence of his undisputed UFC heavyweight title.

The 32-year-old became interim heavyweight champion back in November 2023 when he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in just over a minute at UFC 295, later defending the strap in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes with another quickfire stoppage victory at UFC 304.

Aspinall was denied his desired shot at heavyweight champion Jon Jones after he refused to fight him and revealed he had retired from mixed martial arts.

But at a post-fight presser in June 2025, White announced Aspinall had become undisputed champion because of Jones' decision.

No.1 ranked heavyweight Gane is his first defence and should Aspinall get past him, he will have beaten six of the top 10 fighters.

Aspinall makes his first UFC heavyweight title defence on Saturday. Image: Getty

The latest entry to the top 10 is Croatian Ante Delija, who stopped Marcin Tybura in Paris last month. Delija is good friends with Aspinall, to the point that the heavyweight champ has said he would rather vacate his title than face his pal for the gold.

Asked whether he'd fight his best friend for the UFC title or vacate it during an appearance on the ShxtsnGigs Podcast, Aspinall said: "My friend [Ante Delija] just got his first win in the UFC, and he’s in the top 10. He’s potentially 2-3 wins away from a title shot. If I’d never won a title, I would feel like we would have to fight because that’s my dream.

"But now I’ve done it, I’d be like, I’ll vacate it and he can have his time. I wouldn’t fight him - that’s my guy. I’ve won the title, I’ve done that, and I’ve got a few more in me before he’s gonna be up there anyway."

Aspinall has cleaned out the majority of the division since he burst onto the scene in UFC, where he is yet to go past the first round.

He has been praised for his willingness to fight anyone - even on short notice and in less than ideal circumstances.

But in a new interview with TNT Sports, UFC president White explained that he is not a fan of Aspinall's approach in regards to a potential title bout with Delija.

"You know what I think about that before you even asked me," White replied.

"I hate that. Many friends, relatives, have all fought each other before. Whether you're friends with somebody or you hate somebody, you're competing against them to see who the best is.

"But that's his decision. When you become world champion and if he defends his title and does whatever he does, to even think about vacating it because you don't want to compete against somebody is insane. But he's a grown man and that's up to him."

Aspinall has named the one fighter who he would refuse to fight. Image: Getty

White was then asked about the possibility of UFC light heavyweight Alex Pereira making the step-up to the heavyweight division after expressing his interest but proceeded to make another comment about Aspinall.

He added: "Anything is possible. I don't really like looking that far down the line and talking about the light heavyweight champion moving up but we'll see how things play out at the end of Saturday and then the end of this year as far as Pereira goes. But I'm only looking at Saturday.

"And even Tom talking about vacating if he fought, it's even silly to talk about that when a guy's ranked number ten."

Aspinall set for boxing switch?

While Aspinall has been at the very top of UFC his father and trainer, Andy, wants to see him make switch to boxing to bag more lucrative paydays like Tyson Fury after he completes his current contract.

"The money [in boxing] is more money," he told RMC Sport Combat during fight week.

"He has three more fights on the contract, and I don’t want to sign a new contract personally.”

Back in 2016, Aspinall, along with Tommy Fury, sat down for an interview with IFL TV and signalled his intentions to pursue boxing after "struggling" financially from his early MMA exploits.

Coached by Fury's uncle Peter, he knockedTamas Bajzath out in one minute and 24 seconds in his boxing debut but then revert to MMA and embark on a historic run in the sport.

How to watch watch UFC in the UK

Brits can watch UFC on TNT Sports via discovery+, which can be purchased as a ‘streaming add-on’ to your existing TV package (for Prime Video users that’s £30.99 a month or for Sky users that’s £31 a month). It’s also included in selected BT EE TV packages from £18 per month.