Rising UFC heavyweight Ante Delja has fulfilled Tom Aspinall’s promise to provide again his belt if the matchmaker affords him a future title struggle.
UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall’s first title protection led to a no contest at UFC 321 this previous weekend. Simply minutes into his match in opposition to Cyril Gane, Aspinall was hit a number of instances within the eye and was unable to proceed.
As Aspinall begins the restoration course of and undergoes additional testing, his rising teammate shall be within the highlight this weekend at UFC Vegas 110. Ante Delja, who knocked out Marcin Tibura in his promotional debut earlier this 12 months, will face Waldo Cortez-Acosta in a extremely anticipated heavyweight showdown.
Within the days since UFC 321, Aspinall has confronted a barrage of criticism from quite a lot of high fighters, together with Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw. Deliya was assigned to defend his teammates forward of his second look within the UFC.
Ante Delja: Tom Aspinall ‘did an awesome job’ in deciding to not proceed competing in UFC 321
Throughout the UFC Vegas 110 pre-fight press convention, Deliya responded to Aspinall’s latest feedback.
Fast TKO in debut match 😮💨
Ante Delja is aiming for one more knockout this weekend!
( #UFCVegas110 | November 1st | 7pm ET @ESPN app) pic.twitter.com/vWAFEUZH58
— UFC (@ufc) October 28, 2025
“I feel he did an awesome job with out persevering with, and I feel if extra fighters did the identical factor, we might stop it from occurring once more,” Deriha stated of Aspinall.
“Completely, one hundred pc. Extra fighters ought to do the identical factor, and extra fighters must be punished for behaving like that. I’ve had 33 fights and I’ve by no means poked anybody within the eye. I feel the punishment for that must be harsh.”
Aspinall made headlines forward of UFC 321 when he introduced that he would vacate the heavyweight title in alternate for a struggle with Derija, who’s on the verge of a title struggle. Deliya was requested to answer Aspinall’s feedback forward of his second UFC look.
“He is a extremely expensive good friend of mine, and I imagine he confirmed his character with these phrases,” Deriha stated.
“I’ve no intention of competing with him for the belt both.”
