Tom Aspinall lost his patience with a segment of MMA fans. The heavyweight champion (up to 120,2kg) entered the fight at UFC 321 and frustrated the audience by stopping the fight after suffering an eye poke from Ciryl Gane . Although the illegal blow came from the Frenchman, the Briton ended up being the one most harmed in the public's perception, something that, according to him, boils down to envy.
During an interview with Ariel Helwani, Aspinall explained that he remained silent for weeks after the fight, and yet some fans accuse him of hiding because he supposedly 'gave up'. The Briton claims that even after releasing medical reports and videos to clarify the situation, these same people continue to claim that he is playing the victim or trying to take advantage of the episode.
“I go weeks without saying anything after my fight, and people say, ‘He hid because he knew he had given up.’ Then, when I post reports and videos from the doctors, those same people say, ‘He’s crying a lot, he’s taking advantage of the situation.’” said Tom Aspinall.
Tom Aspinall also stated that he was unable to continue the fight because he had momentarily lost his vision, and emphasized that if he had continued and ended up being knocked out, critics would have said that his ego got the better of him and that he shouldn't have gone on.
“I didn’t continue the fight because I couldn’t see, and those same people, if I had continued and been knocked out, would have said: ‘His ego is too big, he shouldn’t have continued.’ They’re just envious,” concluded the heavyweight champion.
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