Henry Cejudo Urges UFC Champion Tom Aspinall to Give Up His Title

Over the last week, there has been so much talk about Tom Aspinall and how he has been inactive for almost a year. There has also been a lot of pressure on him to vacate the title, as Valentina Shevchenko has vacated it, and many fighters have done the same after being injured. Meanwhile, talking about the heavyweight division, Henry Cejudo shared his thoughts and told the champ to vacate the title and make way for other fighters to move the division forward.

Henry Cejudo Tells Tom Aspinall to Vacate His UFC Heavyweight Title

Since UFC 321 in October 2025, Tom Aspinall has not fought. He is still recovering from his eye injury and has not been cleared by doctors yet. Cejudo feels the UFC should not keep waiting for him. He thinks Aspinall should give up the title, focus on getting better, and let the other heavyweights fight for the belt.

“Give up the title, bro. Give up the title and let your eye recover and that's it. Let the other dudes fight. Let the winner of Josh Hokit and Alex Pereira fight Ciryl Gane for the undisputed,” Cejudo said.

Earlier, Dana White gave an update on Tom Aspinall and said he is still recovering from his eye injury. He also said the heavyweight division will keep moving without him. So, it looks like Aspinall may have to give up his title and let the other fighters compete for the belt.

Josh Hokit Blames Eddie Hearn for Tom Aspinall’s UFC Return Delay

Hokit believes Eddie Hearn is delaying Aspinall’s return because of contract talks. He pointed out that the champ had said earlier that he wanted to fight Ciryl Gane on September 6. However, he is still not cleared. Consequently, Hokit feels Hearn’s recent comments about Aspinall are not true.

“Eddie Hearn’s strategy with Aspinall is obvious: stall with ‘he’ll fight when cleared’ to buy time in contract negotiations. Back in June, Tom said he’d fight Gane Sept 6th. Now Eddie is talking out of his a**: ‘He’s training, he’s ready, he’s eager to come back.’ You mean he didn't get medical clearance before starting full training months ago?? Total BS,” Hokit said.

Indeed, there is now a lot of pressure on Aspinall to return. Fighters like Josh Hokit, Waldo Cortes-Acosta, and Alex Pereira are all waiting for their chance in the heavyweight division.