Fellow Heavyweight Defends Tom Aspinall After Accidental Eye Poke: “Lions are not scared of other lions”
A UFC heavyweight contender has weighed in on Tom Aspinall’s eye injury. Aspinall, who was making the first defense of his undisputed heavyweight championship at UFC 321, was poked in the eye in the opening frame of the bout by challenger Ciryl Gane, after which he was not able to continue.
The bout was declared a no-contest, and the Brit retained his championship. Many in the MMA world subsequently concluded that Aspinall chose not to continue because he thought Gane was the superior man that evening. But when Aspinall’s medical records eventually came to light, it was discovered that he had been diagnosed with “bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome” after being poked in the eye. As per reports, Aspinall is not cleared to fight or even train and will get an eyeball injection and also undergo surgery.
Recently, the No. 4-ranked UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes gave his thoughts on the eye poke. In Aspinall’s defense, he told Home of Fight:
“He’s not a b**ch, he’s not a h*e. He’s not scared. If he says he can’t continue because his eyes are at the point where he can’t see, he might getting knocked out — I gotta respect it… Everyone in the UFC is a lion. Lions are not scared of other lions.”
Check out Curtis Blaydes’ comments about Tom Aspinall below:
Dana White Clears the Air After Tom Aspinall’s Eye-Poke Frustration
After the no-contest at UFC 321, the crowd booed at Tom Aspinall when he chose not to continue. To make things worse for the Brit, UFC CEO Dana White said at the post-fight presser that Aspinall did not want to continue.
Aspinall later voiced his dissatisfaction with the UFC head honcho’s response, also revealing that, other than Hunter Campbell, no one has contacted him to learn the status of his injury.
This past weekend at the UFC 323 presser, White responded to Tom Aspinall expressing disappointment with the former’s past remarks. He said:
“I know Tom said I haven’t even talked to him and all this stuff, but we have people all over him right now checking up on him and making sure he’s good… I’m not a doctor. I’m just saying what I heard. I said Tom’s eyes are good, he’s going to take some time, heal, that’s all I said. Never once did I say anything negative about him in a derogatory way. I’m sure he’s upset, fired up, and he’ll get better, and we’ll get him back there.”
Check out Dana White’s comments below:
