Dana White's recent assessment of Tom Aspinall is wrong: Evaluating how deserving the Englishman is of an undisputed title fight

It seems that no matter what Tom Aspinall accomplishes, he can't seem to earn Dana White's true admiration. The Englishman, and everyone else on the UFC roster, has taken a backseat as of late to Jon Jones, the undisputed heavyweight titleholder, who the UFC CEO often champions.

Recently, White took part in a recent interview where he touched on the state of the heavyweight division. While speaking to interviewer Kevin Iole, the UFC CEO shared a controversial opinion: that Aspinall doesn't deserve to fight Jones for the undisputed title fight.

Moreover, he describes Aspinall as an up-and-comer who is still working his way toward the divisional peak. The assessment drew widespread criticism for one simple fact. It isn't true.

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Tom Aspinall is the UFC interim heavyweight champion

The first counterpoint to Dana White's claim that Tom Aspinall doesn't deserve anything is that Tom Aspinall is the UFC interim heavyweight champion. The entire concept is based on crowning an alternate titleholder whenever a division's regular champion is sidelined for the long term due either to injury or something else.

Last year, Jon Jones, the undisputed heavyweight champion, was scheduled to face Stipe Miocic at UFC 295. Unfortunately, 'Bones' tore his pectoral tendon, causing him to withdraw from the bout and forcing the promotion to book an interim heavyweight title between the Englishman and Sergei Pavlovich.

Check out Tom Aspinall knocking out Sergei Pavlovich:

Aspinall demolished Pavlovich within a round, knocking him out to capture interim heavyweight gold. This in itself warrants an undisputed title fight, as the reigning champion must unify the belts to maintain his undisputed status, which is, in effect, disputed by the interim champion.

So by the mere virtue of being the heavyweight division's interim champion, Aspinall deserves to fight Jones in a more official capacity than anyone else does, regardless of Miocic's legacy, which is a nebulous concept.

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Tom Aspinall's recent body of work warrants an undisputed title shot

The UFC heavyweight division is currently plagued by inactivity, with a few high-profile fighters refusing to fight. Jon Jones wanted no part of either Sergei Pavlovich or Tom Aspinall after capturing the undisputed title. Instead, he called out Stipe Miocic, a legend but one who has been inactive in recent years.

Miocic hasn't fought in over three years, is about to turn 42, and his last fight was a brutal knockout loss to Francis Ngannou, which cost him his title. If anything, Miocic is the undeserving one, since he wasn't even granted an immediate rematch, as 'The Predator' subsequently defended his title against Ciryl Gane.

But somehow, the grizzled old veteran who hasn't fought in three years, was finished in his last fight, which was for the title, and wasn't even given an immediate rematch, undercutting his 'deserving' status is somehow more deserving than anyone else to fight Jones next?

Check out Tom Aspinall knocking out Curtis Blaydes:

Aspinall has not only beaten but has finished everyone ranked in the heavyweight top five besides Ciryl Gane, who previously avoided facing him. He submitted the #3 ranked Alexander Volkov, and knocked out both the #4 ranked Sergei Pavlovich and the #5 ranked Curtis Blaydes.

Moreover, one of those wins was an interim title defense, and one of them was a short-notice fight he accepted to save the UFC 295 card after Jones' withdrawal. There is no fighter more deserving than the Englishman. He has run through the heavyweight top five, and the time for him to face Jones is now.