Tom Aspinall finally became the UFC Undisputed Heavyweight Champion on Saturday, when the promotion’s CEO, Dana White, announced that prior champion, Jon Jones, had retired from mixed martial arts.
This was certainly not the way that the 32 year old would have wanted to become the true undisputed champion, especially given that he was forced to fight twice for the now-defunct interim belt.
And Tom Aspinall’s father – who also acts as the heavyweight champion’s coach – had some choice words directed towards the UFC, per the Uncrowned network.
Tom Aspinall’s father was unhappy with how the UFC announced Tom as the new undisputed champion:
“I sent a message back to Hunter saying, âI canât think of a worse way you could have done itâ… For me, the heavyweight championship of an organization is quite a big thing and I⦠pic.twitter.com/DyxqAiqrTR
â Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 25, 2025
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“I sent a message back to Hunter saying, âI canât think of a worse way you could have done itâ”, The elder Aspinall said to Uncrowned, “…For me, the heavyweight championship of an organization is quite a big thing and I donât think Tom deserved to find out at a press conference in the middle of the night.”
“…We just happened to be awake at the time. Itâs poor man management of Jones and Tom. I like the personnel at the UFC, but for me, they just donât do things right sometimes.”
Tom Aspinall’s Father Blames ‘Poor Man Management’ From UFC
The UFC were in a tough spot concerning him and Jon Jones, and reportedly matched Jones’ financial demands earlier this year, hence why White was repeatedly so confident about getting the fight done between the pair.
However, Jones started speaking out about potential retirement whilst filming a reality show in Thailand, and ultimately renegaded on his word with the promotion, leading the UFC to make Aspinall the undisputed champ.
The promotion could have certainly made more an effort to crown the new king of the division in a more deserved way, but Aspinall – above all – will just be glad to now be the proper champion.
When Will Aspinall Make His First Official Title Defense?
The UFC certainly landed Aspinall in a difficult situation; one that resulted in the Brit having to sit out for what will almost certainly be over a year, unless he somehow makes his way onto next month’s card at UFC 318 in Louisiana.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, the champion expressed a desire to defend his belt in Abu Dhabi in later October – in around four months from now.
ð¨| Tom Aspinallâs preference is to make his first undisputed heavyweight title defense at #UFC321 in Abu Dhabi, which is expected to be on October 25th. ð
[per @arielhelwani] pic.twitter.com/OuRjhOP8MEâ MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) June 23, 2025
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Abu Dhabi would not necessarily be the most logical choice for Aspinall, given that the UFC tends to prefer putting Muslim fighters early on the card as they tend to have considerable popularity with fans in the Middle East.
And with both Islam Makhachev and Magomed Ankalaev set to fight this fall, it could make more sense to put Aspinall as the headliner for the UFC 320 card on October 4 in Vegas.
The UFC might even get poetic, and put the champion on the card that was once going to be the stage for him and Jones to battle it out – November’s card at Madison Square Gardens.
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