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Tom Aspinall would rather vacate the UFC heavyweight title than fight one top-10 contender

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 5:09 PM ET

There is one UFC heavyweight who Tom Aspinall has no plans to share the cage with.

Aspinall’s reign as undisputed heavyweight king will finally get underway at UFC 321 on October 25. After being elevated following Jon Jones’ retirement announcement, the Englishman will defend the gold for the first time against Ciryl Gane in the Abu Dhabi pay-per-view main event.

Should the champ get past Gane, he seemingly won’t be short on options for his next opponent. In fact, Aspinall has pointed to another UFC 321 fight between Jailton Almeida and Alexander Volkov as a likely title eliminator.

But while he welcomes either of those challenges, there is one man widely tipped for a climb toward the title whom Aspinall will absolutely not be throwing down with.

Tom Aspinall won’t fight his ‘friend’ Ante Delija in the UFC

Before focusing on his upcoming return to action, Aspinall was supporting a teammate at UFC Paris. Former PFL title winner Ante Delija announced his arrival in style, tearing through Marcin Tybura in just over two minutes.

That debut result immediately put the Croatian into the top 10 of the UFC heavyweight rankings, meaning he may only be a few wins away from a title shot.

Should that come to fruition, Aspinall has no plans of facing off against him.

“My friend and training partner (Delija) has just got to the UFC and he just got his first win, and now he’s in the top 10,” Aspinall said on the ShxtsnGigs Podcast.

“He’s potentially like two or three 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 would be like, I’ll vacate it and he can have his time.

“I wouldn’t fight him, no chance, no chance…that’s my guy.” he continued. “There’s some stuff to me that’s more important than money and titles. 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.”