Ok, ok, I know some people are going to get mad at me, and I get it, but this is something we need to talk about.
For some reason, fighters in the UFC’s heavyweight division seem to think they can box. Now, it appears that Tom Aspinall’s camp is thinking about having him box.
While Tom Aspinall is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career at UFC 321, but behind the scenes, his father is already playing matchmaker — not just for UFC bouts, but for the kind of mega-money crossover events.
The British heavyweight is set to defend his undisputed title against Ciryl Gane on October 25 in Abu Dhabi. It’s a blockbuster bout on its own — but it also marks a new chapter in Aspinall’s reign now that Jon Jones, the former king of the division, is officially out of the picture. Aspinall’s promotion from interim to undisputed champion after Jones retired in June capped off a saga that kept the MMA world in limbo. Now, the heavyweight crown is his — and with it, expectations.
And if his father, Andy Aspinall, has his way, this next chapter could take some unexpected turns.
Speaking on Tom’s YouTube channel, Andy laid out a bold — and potentially lucrative — roadmap for the 32-year-old champ. That plan? Defend the belt, headline in England, then possibly step into the boxing ring for a high-stakes payday.
“If he’s not bothered about the money, I’d love him to have a very highly paid boxing match for the money,” Andy said. “The money’s there… the UFC ain’t paying that type of money.”
Andy didn’t mince words about the financial imbalance between MMA and other sports. Comparing Tom’s earnings to that of Premier League footballers or NFL players, he made it clear: elite fighters like his son deserve a bigger cut of the combat sports pie.
I feel like we’ve all heard this before. Oh, wait, we did.
And the numbers back it up. Aspinall’s only UFC loss came via freak injury just 15 seconds into a bout with Curtis Blaydes. When they ran it back at UFC 304? Aspinall steamrolled him with a 60-second KO. That kind of dominance, Andy argues, should come with elite paychecks — especially considering the dangers of the sport.
“He’s one of the best in the world at doing what he does and not getting paid enough,” Andy said. “It’s very dangerous, so when he’s got enough to get out of it, I’d say get out of it.”
For now, Tom is focused on defending his belt. But Andy’s vision is clear: two more fights, maybe a boxing megafight, then out — healthy and with his future intact.
“When he retires… when he gets out of it healthy, that’s all I’m bothered about,” Andy said. “He’s made some money now… Won’t bother me if he packs in tomorrow.”
I do not know why UFC heavyweights, one way or another, seem to want to dip their toes in boxing.
Look, I love Francis Ngannou, but the guy can’t box.
Tyson Fury did not respect Ngannou, showed up out of shape, and that was about it.
Anthony Joshua wasn’t about to let that happen to him and put Ngannou down.
At the PFL, Francis is unstoppable and may be headed to the UFC, but that ship has sailed and will never come back.
Tom Aspinall has a chance to begin his march to UFC greatness; anything outside of that is a distraction. After five or six titles, defense may be then Tom can dip his toe in boxing, but he’ll have the resume to do it.
