Tom Aspinall’s undisputed Heavyweight title reign could be coming to an unceremonious end.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White was asked about Aspinall’s prolonged absence during the Zuffa Boxing post-fight press conference last night (Sat., Sept. 12, 2026). Specifically, White was questioned whether UFC should handle Aspinall’s situation similarly to former women’s Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, who recently vacated her title because of an injury and extended recovery timeline.
“We’ll definitely be talking about that,” White said. “Valentina doesn’t want to tie up the division, and I’m assuming Tom feels the same way. I don’t know personally where he is health-wise with everything, but we should clear that up soon.”
White did not outright confirm that Aspinall will be stripped or asked to vacate. Nevertheless, his response indicates that the promotion plans to discuss the Heavyweight champion’s future sooner rather than later.
It’s worth noting that Aspinall announced he was back to full training in June … so something must have gone terribly wrong.
Aspinall has not competed since his first undisputed title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Oct. 2025. That fight ended in a first-round “No Contest” after Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes, leaving the Englishman unable to continue. Aspinall was later diagnosed with bilateral traumatic Brown syndrome and underwent multiple procedures to repair the damage.
Next month will mark one full year since Aspinall last stepped inside the Octagon. Even more remarkably, he has not completed a fight since knocking out Curtis Blaydes in just 60 seconds at UFC 304 in July 2024.
White recently admitted that he had no concrete update on Aspinall’s health, declaring that the Heavyweight division would “just keep rolling” until something changed.
Shevchenko voluntarily relinquished her Flyweight championship after suffering an injury, which could keep her sidelined for nearly one year. “Bullet” was scheduled to defend against Natalia Silva at UFC 332, but Silva will now battle Wang Cong for the vacant belt while Shevchenko recovers. Her team expects her to receive another title opportunity upon returning.
Whether Aspinall will make the same sacrifice should finally become clear soon.
