UFC boss Dana White could not help but throw a subtle jab in the direction of Tom Aspinall off the back of tonight’s UFC 321 main event calamity.
Headlining the promotion’s annual Octagon outing to the Middle East, undisputed heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall put his divisional crown on the line for the first time.
But just as soon as his showdown with Ciryl Gane was heating up — it was suddenly over — in the most disappointing of circumstances.
Suffering a disastrous double eye poke, Aspinall was left unable to continue — with Dana White keen to book a rematch, despite making a subtle dig in the Brit’s direction.
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Fans weigh-in on Dana White’s comments on Tom Aspinall’s UFC 321 return
Speaking post-fight following the headliner mishap, long-time promotional boss White confirmed plans to book Aspinall in a rematch with Gane as soon as possible.
However, during his post-fight conference, White boldly called the result into question — pointing to Gane’s early success and likely round win, questioning if Aspinall actually wanted to continue given the punishment he already received.
“There probably will be a lot more interest in the rematch [between Aspinall and Gane],” White told assembled media. “…I mean, he had Tom bloodied up. And, you know — Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight, so. The rematch is very interesting.”
And amid plans to make a move to boxing before too long, fans are sure White is goading Aspinall’s exit from the bout following the eye poke.
“Can’t help but think this is his way of getting back at Tom’s dad for wanting to leave UFC to box,” a user posted on X.
“Damn, Dana said he didn’t ‘want’ to continue, not he ‘couldn’t’… basically Dana is calling Tom a quitter,” a second commenter wrote.
“Dana white has beefed with the last 4 heavyweight champions, lol,” another user wrote.
“Basically called him a coward in the nicest way possible,” a fourth commenter posted on social media.
“Dana is happy it ended this way, he’s gonna sell the same fight twice,” another commenter quipped.
“I invite Dana to shove his own finger knuckle deep into his eye socket and then fight a UFC heavyweight,” a commenter wrote.
Tom Aspinall called out by former foe
Earlier in the night, a past opponent of Aspinall also positioned himself for a rematch with the current heavyweight kingpin.
Recording a more than controversial decision win over Brazilian star Jailton Almeida, towering contender Alexander Volkov secured a dubious victory.
And post-fight, the 6ft 7in giant staked his claim for a rematch with Aspinall, who submitted him three years ago in a round during his winning spree.