Tom Aspinall might not be the UFC heavyweight champion for much longer.
Aspinall is coming up on one year, Oct. 25, since his last fight that ended in a no contest after illegal eye pokes from Ciryl Gane rendered him unable to continue. Aspinall suffered injuries to both of his eyes, which required surgeries for repair, and the timeline for his return remains a mystery.
With Valentina Shevchenko, who last fought on Nov. 15, recently vacating her women's flyweight title after suffering an injury, pundits have wondered if Aspinall could be forced to do the same.
UFC CEO Dana White was asked about it Saturday night, and his answer doesn't bode well for Aspinall's title reign continuing.
"We'll definitely be talking about that (Aspinall vacating),"
White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after the Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn fight. "It's one of those – like, 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 healthwise with everything, but we should clear that up soon."
Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) recently assured that he's not leaving the UFC after signing on to be managed by White's rival, Eddie Hearn. It's unclear if he's been medically cleared to train, although Hearn said he hoped that would be the case before the end of 2026.
While Aspinall has been sidelined, Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) finished Alex Pereira to claim the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Pereira (13-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) recently called for a rematch with Gane, potentially giving the UFC incentive to move on without Aspinall.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White: UFC will 'definitely be talking about' stripping Tom Aspinall of title
