Tom Aspinall has revealed that he has not been invited to the UFC's upcoming White House event, despite his connection to the co-main event. The British heavyweight champion expressed his willingness to attend if asked, but stated that no one from the UFC has reached out to him.
UFC White House Event Details
On 14 June, the UFC will host a historic event on the South Lawn of the White House. The co-main event features Alex Pereira facing Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title. Aspinall currently holds the regular heavyweight belt, yet he has not received an invitation.
Speaking on Fight Your Corner, Aspinall said: “No, they’ve not asked me [to come]. No one’s asked me yet. To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it until you asked me. No, I don’t feel disrespected.”
Aspinall added: “[But] they should come to me, I feel. I’d be there, I’d be there; if they asked me, I’d be there for sure. If they asked me, I would definitely go. I would [like to watch the fight up close]. I definitely would, yeah. There’s no excuses, I would. I have nothing to say otherwise, I would like to. I’m gonna watch it from home anyway, so if you’re there, it’s gonna be even better, isn’t it?”
Potential Rematch with Gane
Should Gane win, Aspinall would be expected to face the Frenchman in a rematch of their October bout. That fight ended in a no-contest after multiple eye pokes from Gane, which forced Aspinall to undergo double eye surgery. The 33-year-old Briton has since returned to training but is not yet back in full sparring.
Aspinall commented: “I’ve got a lot of unfinished business. Like, me and Gane have got to get this rematch going, and then if I can get a massive fight like a Pereira fight as well, that’s [ideal].”
On a previous episode of Fight Your Corner, Aspinall said: “I want revenge [against Gane] of course, but also, there’s an argument to say that me and Pereira would be a bigger fight. I don’t know, they’re both big fights, aren’t they? Pereira’s got a massive fanbase globally. I think they’re both tough fights, to be honest. I would say Gane [beats Pereira] by points; I think he’s just gonna move too much for him and beat him on points.”
Pereira's Historic Opportunity
If Pereira overcomes Gane, he will be crowned the first three-weight champion in UFC history, albeit with an interim title completing his set. The Brazilian, 38, is a former middleweight and two-time light-heavyweight champion, and the ex-kickboxing star is recognised as a generational knockout specialist. Pereira ended his second reign as UFC light-heavyweight champion on his own terms, vacating the title in February to move up to heavyweight.
Meanwhile, Gane is a former interim heavyweight champion who has thrice failed to win the undisputed belt. The 36-year-old was outpointed by Francis Ngannou in 2022 and submitted by Jon Jones in 2023, before his no-contest with Aspinall in October.
Fight Your Corner is a Platform Media original show.
