Sorry, Tom — apparently Mario Lopez is more important.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall may be waiting for his next title defense, but as of now, he won’t be doing it cageside at UFC Freedom 250.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight and Middleweight champion Alex Pereira collides with former interim Heavyweight titleholder Ciryl Gane for the interim Heavyweight title next weekend (Sun., June 14, 2026) on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., as part of America’s
250th anniversary celebration.
The winner is expected to unify the belt against Aspinall, making it somewhat surprising that the reigning Heavyweight champion hasn’t even been invited to attend.
“No, they’ve not asked me [to come]. No one’s asked me yet,” Aspinall told Fight Your Corner recently. “To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it until you asked me. No, I don’t feel disrespected. [UFC] should come to me, I feel. I’d be there, I’d be there; if they asked me, I’d be there for sure. If they asked me, I would definitely go.”
The British champion admitted he’d love the opportunity to watch the fight unfold in person.
“I would. I definitely would, yeah,” Aspinall said. “There’s no excuses, I would. I have nothing to say otherwise, I would like to. I’m gonna watch it from home anyway, so if you’re there, it’s gonna be even better, isn’t it?”
As for which man he’d prefer to fight next, Aspinall sees compelling reasons for both matchups.
“I’ve got a lot of unfinished business,” Aspinall explained. “Like, me and Gane have got to get this rematch going, and then if I can get a massive fight like a Pereira fight as well, that’s ideal.”
Aspinall has not competed since suffering a gruesome eye injury against Gane at UFC 321. The injury required multiple surgeries and sidelined the champion from training for several months. UFC commentator Michael Bisping recently suggested the situation remains murky, claiming that “something weird is going on” regarding Aspinall’s recovery timeline.
Considering the winner of Pereira vs. Gane is expected to challenge Aspinall for the undisputed title, having the champion cageside would seem like a logical promotional move.
Apparently, however, the guest list had room for Tom Brady and Mario Lopez — but not the man who actually owns the Heavyweight belt.
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