Tom Aspinall: UFC president Dana White says he wasn’t “negative” or “derogatory” about the Briton

Dana White insists he never said anything “negative” or “derogatory” about Tom Aspinall after the Briton suffered an eye injury during his fight with Ciryl Gane last month.

Aspinall retained his heavyweight title when the bout was deemed a no contest following an eye poke from the Frenchman – an incident which has left him with “persistent” double vision.

In the post-fight news conference, UFC president White said “only Tom knows what happened” and that he “didn’t want to continue”.

Aspinall, who said he couldn’t see following the eye poke, said he was “disappointed” by White’s reaction on his YouTube channel., external

When White was asked about Aspinall’s comments following UFC 323 in Las Vegas on Saturday, White said “things can be taken out of context”.

“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,” said White.

“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.”

After Aspinall’s bout with Gane, White said he was keen to book a rematch but it is unclear when Aspinall will be fit to return.

Aspinall has still not returned to training and has said he may require surgery on his eyes.

Earlier in November, veteran MMA referee Herb Dean said officials will look to more regularly enforce point deductions for eye pokes after the Aspinall incident.