Tom Aspinall has finally spoken out about the situation that occurred at UFC 321, where Aspinall, as heavyweight champion, was unable to continue due to a foul. His opponent that night, Ciryl Gane, stabbed Aspinall in the eye (or eyes, depending on which angle) in the first round and with the Brit unable to continue, the fight was stopped. considered a no contest.
The controversy arose because the fight had not really gotten going yet. Gane did extremely well against Aspinall, something no one thought he would do. He put Aspinall on his feet, bloodied his nose and defended the takedowns. He was faster than the champion and it was the first time in the UFC that Aspinall looked like he was going to lose a round.
We’ll never know how that fight would have gone that night due to Aspinall’s injury, but we’re all hoping for a rematch.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White was less than pleased with his heavyweight champion, saying:
“He left Tom (Apsinall) bloodied and uh, you know, Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight”
What White is suggesting here is that Aspinall wanted to take the easy way out, rather than continue fighting.
Tom Aspinall hits back at Dana White
Tom Aspinall took to his YouTube channel to address White’s comments on the night of UFC 321. The world heavyweight champion said:
“I’ll tell you why I didn’t continue. Because I’m not a dummy. I’m not going to go out and fight one of the best strikers in the world if I can’t see”
It takes a lot for someone to step into the octagon, and considering Dana White has never done so, nor had his eyes put in a professional fight, it’s fair to say Tom Aspinall is better placed to discuss the situation.
Speaking about his opponent that evening, Aspinall accused Gane of deliberately trying to stab him in the eye and stated:
“The guy tried to put my eyes out. The guy cheated from the first second… I think he’s a big cheater. Look at all his fights”
Whether we’ll see Tom Aspinall fight again anytime soon doesn’t seem very likely. He said:
“There’s talk of eye surgery. I’m not in the gym working out right now… right now we just have to focus on health. That’s all I can control right now. We’ll cross that bridge when I feel better.”
You can watch the full video here:
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