Dana White says he meant no slight towards Tom Aspinall after the Briton said he was “disappointed” at how the UFC president reacted to his eye-poke at UFC 321.
Aspinall was accidentally gouged in both eyes by heavyweight opponent Ciryl Gane in what his first defence as undisputed champion in November. He could not continue and the fight was deemed a no-contest.
This week he revealed that he has been diagnosed with a rare condition in both eyes which may require surgery and has not yet been cleared to return to training.
White had claimed after the fight the Briton had “no damage” to his eye and insinuated the bout had to be stopped because “Tom didn’t want to continue”, rather than because he physically couldn’t, with Aspinall expressing his dismay at these comments on The Ariel Helwani Show.
In response, White has insisted he meant no disrespect to the 32-year-old champion after the conclusion of UFC 323, while confirming Aspinall’s claim that he has had no contact with the UFC president.
He said: "What did I say, just that I think his eyes are OK? I know Tom said that I haven’t even talked to him and stuff, but we have people all over him right now, checking up on him.
“I'm no doctor, I'm just saying what I've heard. I wasn't saying anything negative towards him.
“I think the thing's going to be taken out of context, or he didn't see what I said because I don’t even know what the f*** I said. But never once did I say anything negative about him or in a derogatory way.
“I'm sure he is upset and fired up. He’ll get better and come back.”
Aspinall posted a medical report to his Instagram account showing he has “significant bilateral Brown’s syndrome”, a rare condition where the eye cannot move upwards, particularly when looking inward.
He is also still suffering from “persistent double vision” and has reduced eye motility, visual function and substantial field loss, and may require surgery, which could prevent him from fighting in 2026.
