From Newsweek · Matthew Couden · · 1m 20s
Dana White hints Tom Aspinall's belt could go
A year without a title defence has the UFC openly weighing whether its heavyweight champion should still hold the belt.
In brief
A year without a title defence has the UFC openly weighing whether its heavyweight champion should still hold the belt. A champion who cannot get in the cage becomes a problem the promotion eventually solves without him. Originally reported by Newsweek.
A year, no defence
Tom Aspinall has not defended the UFC heavyweight championship in twelve months, and the promotion is starting to say so out loud.
White opens the door
Asked after Noche UFC whether Aspinall might be told to vacate, the UFC president did not shut it down. He said the conversation is coming.
“We'll definitely be talking about that.”
The Shevchenko precedent
Valentina Shevchenko gave up the women's strawweight belt after an injury cost her a year. White pointed straight at that as the template.
“Valentina doesn't want to tie up the division. And I'm assuming Tom feels the same way.”
Two eye pokes, several surgeries
At UFC 321 last October, Ciryl Gane poked Aspinall in the eye twice. The bout became a no contest, and the damage required multiple operations.
A rematch with no date
Surgeries were meant to finish by mid-January, but no return timeline followed. Talk of a Gane rematch headlining UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden is still just talk.
Hearn in the middle
Aspinall signed with Eddie Hearn's new agency in February, and Hearn wants a new UFC deal. Critics think that feud with White is pushing the belt out of Aspinall's hands.
The key point
A champion who cannot get in the cage becomes a problem the promotion eventually solves without him.
