Outside Source
Aspinall (15-3) was recently asked whether he would fight friend Ante Delija (26-6) or vacate the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title. “Honey Badger” says he would rather vacate the crown than fight the UFC newcomer. Aspinall noted that Delija is already in the Top 10 rankings after his first Octagon win. Aspinall believes the Croatian is hardly a few wins away from a title shot. Aspinall would have considered fighting Delija if they were both climbing their way up to a title shot. But after having touched UFC gold, Aspinall would happily walk away and leave the door open for his longtime friend and training partner. While some of Aspinall’s teammates are just his professional training partners, Delija is a close friend.
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“My friend and training partner just got his first win in the UFC, and now he’s in the Top 10,” Aspinall said on the ShxtsnGigs podcast. “He’s potentially 2–3 wins away from a title shot… If I’d never won a title, if I had never touched gold before, I would feel like we would have to fight because that’s my dream. But now I’ve done it, I’d be like, I’ll vacate it and he can have his time. I wouldn’t fight him, no chance, that’s my guy. So I’ve got guys who I train with, I’ve trained with them for years. And I’ve got other guys who are my genuine friends. And he’s like one of my genuine friends. There’s some stuff that’s more important to me 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 going to be up there anyway.’
Delija won the Professional Fighters League’s $1 million heavyweight tournament in 2022. “Walking Trouble” made his UFC debut this past September, where he knocked out veteran Marcin Tybura in the first round. Delija is scheduled to fight Walso Cortes Acosta (14-2) at UFC Fight Night 263 on Nov. 1 at The Apex in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, Aspinall was promoted to undisputed champion after Jon Jones retired earlier this year. The Englishman is scheduled to defend his title against Ciryl Gane (13-2) at UFC 321 321 on Oct. 25 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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