Summary
Aspinall backstage at the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/tomaspinallofficial
Out of action since October and with no return date set, Tom Aspinall's future in the UFC is uncertain. At the time, the Englishman defended his heavyweight title (up to 120,2 kg) for the first time against Ciryl Gane , but the fight ended in a no contest after he received unintentional eye pokes. From then on, the champion's relationship with fans and Dana White deteriorated. Daniel Cormier , in fact , is concerned not only about the athlete's situation in the company, but also about what many are doing to him on social media.
Recently, a rumor circulated that the UFC had agreed to release Aspinall after he relinquished his title. Fans then treated the speculation as fact, and Josh Thomson , a former fighter and current commentator, spread the news. Subsequently, journalist Peter Carroll debunked the rumor. With the damage done, Cormier expressed his dissatisfaction that his friend had spread fake news.
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And the veteran's stance is valid. Currently, Aspinall and Dana are on a collision course and publicly disagree. According to the executive, as well as many fans, the athlete 'exaggerated' the finger poke he received. Knowing about the friction between the two, 'DC' implied that everyone should be more responsible when spreading information, as the recent rumor could have further harmed the Englishman.
"You know who isn't very smart? I love the fans, but there's a part of them that's very emotional. Sometimes a child really wants something and, if they don't get it, they get upset. There's a part of the fans who get angry about things that are completely out of people's control ," said the former fighter on his YouTube channel.
“For example: Aspinall got poked in the eye in his last fight, the fight was stopped, but we all wanted it to continue. I was upset, but to say that Aspinall didn't want to fight was crazy. Now we find out, 'according to Thomson'. He's my friend, but he's very stupid. He says: 'The UFC asked Aspinall to relinquish the belt until he's ready to return. He said he would be willing to relinquish the title as long as they released him'. That's not true.”
“That’s simply not true. Where did Thomson hear that? He was wrong. I don’t think that request has even been made yet. If the UFC wanted to, they could schedule an interim title fight with another fighter while the champion waits. Aspinall fought last year ,” he concluded.
Controversial fight
The highly anticipated fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane ended in a 'no contest'. In the first round, the UFC heavyweight champion received a double eye poke and gave up the fight because he couldn't see. After the fight, the Englishman was diagnosed with bilateral traumatic Brown's syndrome, a condition that restricts eye movement. The injury was so severe that the athlete underwent surgery on both eyes.
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