White confirms Aspinall would have faced Pereira at UFC White House if fit

Dana White has confirmed that Tom Aspinall was the intended opponent for Alex Pereira at UFC White House: Freedom 250, with the heavyweight champion’s ongoing eye injury the sole reason Ciryl Gane is instead fighting for an interim title on June 14.

“100% [Aspinall vs. Pereira] would have been the fight if he was fit,” White said. “A lot of our champions are hurt right now. There’s a lot of things you have to deal with when you’re making these matches, with timing and everything else going on in everyone’s life, injuries. But yeah, it would have been Tom.”

Aspinall (15-3) has been sidelined since his UFC 320 title defence against Gane (13-2) last October ended in a no-contest after Gane simultaneously poked him in both eyes in the opening round. The incident left Aspinall requiring surgery, and he has not competed since. Gane will now meet light heavyweight champion Pereira (13-3) in the co-main event at Freedom 250 for an interim heavyweight belt.

The relationship between Aspinall and the UFC has been publicly strained in the months since UFC 320. White initially suggested Aspinall appeared unwilling to continue fighting with compromised vision and described his subsequent eye surgery as merely “injections.” Aspinall hit back publicly at those comments and later signed with the management company of Eddie Hearn, a known rival of White’s. Hearn has since stated he intends to prevent Aspinall from competing under his existing UFC contract.

White’s latest comments, however, suggest the promotion still views Aspinall as its undisputed heavyweight champion and the natural opponent for Pereira once fit — a framing that could complicate Hearn’s efforts to steer his new client elsewhere. Whether Aspinall will be cleared to fight before Pereira’s interim title picture forces a unification bout remains the central question hanging over the division.