The fight was ruled a no contest after Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in the eye, but Aspinall still kept his heavyweight title. The injury left him with ongoing double vision.
After the fight, White said that “only Tom knows what happened” and suggested that Aspinall didn’t want to continue. Aspinall, who said he couldn’t see properly after the incident, later said he was disappointed by White’s comments on his YouTube channel.
Speaking after UFC 323 in Las Vegas, White said his words had been taken out of context. He explained that the UFC has staff checking on Aspinall and making sure he is okay.
White added that he is not a doctor and was only repeating what he had been told about Aspinall’s condition. He said he never intended to speak negatively or disrespectfully about the fighter.
White also said he wanted to arrange a rematch after the fight, but it’s not clear when Aspinall will be healthy enough to return. Aspinall has not gone back to training yet and has said he might need surgery on his eyes.
Following the incident, veteran referee Herb Dean said officials plan to be stricter about deducting points for eye pokes in future fights.
