UFC’s Petty Beef With Tom Aspinall Takes Another Head-Scratching Turn

Tom Aspinall‘s absence from UFC London in March has been explained by his manager, Eddie Hearn, and the reason is another instance of the petty beef his employer has with him.

The UFC heavyweight champion received a text from Dana White at 6 pm on the day of the fight inviting him to attend. Aspinall lives five hours away from the venue. Hearn disclosed the details during an interview with Ariel Helwani on Tuesday, making clear that his client was not given a proper invitation in any reasonable time frame.

“He was very surprised he never got an invite,” Hearn said. “He got a text from Dana at about 6 pm on the day of the fight saying, ‘Would you like to come tonight?’ And he lives five hours away. So, that wasn’t ideal.”

Hearn expressed confusion over how the situation was handled, given Aspinall’s standing as the UFC‘s heavyweight champion and one of the most popular fighters in the United Kingdom.

Eddie Hearn ‘baffled’ by UFC’s latest petty tactic

“I just find it baffling that you can do an event in the UK and not invite the heavyweight world champion, who is from the UK,” Hearn said. “Let’s be honest, it wasn’t exactly a card for the huge names, was it? Tom Aspinall being there would’ve been great for the event.” He confirmed that Aspinall would have attended had he been properly invited and given adequate notice.

Aspinall has been sidelined since suffering a double eye poke during his fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October. The injury required double eye surgery, and he has not yet been fully medically cleared for contact training.

“I’ve not had a lot going on, just been back in the gym doing a bit of light training,” Aspinall said earlier this month. “I’m still waiting to get fully cleared for contact on my eye, but we are back in the gym doing a little bit.”

With Aspinall’s return timeline still uncertain, the UFC has moved forward with creating an interim heavyweight title. Gane and Alex Pereira are scheduled to fight for the secondary championship on June 14 at the UFC White House card in Washington, D.C.