“I was very disappointed,” Tom Aspinall had said earlier this week on the Ariel Helwani show while reacting to Dana White’s rather dismissive attitude toward him following the fiasco in Abu Dhabi in October. At the UFC 321 post-fight press conference, the UFC head honcho showed visible frustration with how the main event fight between Aspinall and Gane ended and praised Ciryl Gane for delivering a career-best performance instead of addressing the double eye poke the Brit suffered. These actions created a clear break in Aspinall and White’s relationship. Now, the UFC CEO has opened up and fully defended why he believed his initial response was justified.

“I get it. I don’t remember exactly what I said… that I think his eyes were okay?” White recalled at the UFC 323 post-fight presser last night. “Here’s the thing, I know Tom said I haven’t even talked to him, but we have people all over him right now, checking up on him, making sure he’s good, if he needs any help or a specialist.”

During his interview with Ariel Helwani, Tom Aspinall mentioned that he’s not in regular contact with Dana White after the eye poke incident. Instead, the Brit is dealing directly with UFC CBO Hunter Campbell regarding all the medical procedures. So when the UFC CEO didn’t explicitly mention having personal communication with Aspinall, it pretty much confirmed the champ’s claim that he hasn’t been in touch with Dana White. But that wasn’t the only thing the CEO addressed.

White also revisited his earlier update about Aspinall’s eye injury not being severe, where he stated on the Jim Rome Show that the heavyweight didn’t suffer a detached retina. Aspinall later pushed back on that by revealing details about Brown Syndrome on Instagram, then doubled down with his disappointment during the Ariel Helwani Show.

Responding to the situation, White clarified that his reaction came from the Abu Dhabi doctor’s initial assessment, which reportedly didn’t find anything wrong with Aspinall’s eyes.

“I am no doctor. I am just saying what I’ve heard. It wasn’t said in a way, ‘Oh, I think he’s fine.’ I said, ‘I think Tom’s eyes are good, he’s gonna take some time, heal…’ I wasn’t saying anything negative toward him. I think things can be taken out of context, or he didn’t see what I said,” Dana White explained at the UFC 323 post-fight press conference.

Now that Dana White has cleared up the misunderstanding with Tom Aspinall, things might slowly shift in a positive direction between the two. But looking at how tense the situation has been, Henry Cejudo decided to send the heavyweight champ a message, and it was a pretty alarming one.

Henry Cejudo warns Tom Aspinall not to mess with Dana White

For any UFC fighter, getting into a major disagreement with Dana White can be risky. The whole Francis Ngannou saga is proof of how ugly things can get. The situation spiraled so far out of control that the former champ walked away from the company, and it pretty much shut the door on any realistic chance of him returning.

Probably keeping that fallout in mind, Henry Cejudo advised Aspinall to avoid going back-and-forth with the UFC CEO, reminding him that he’s technically an employee, while praising White for being a straight-shooting promoter.

“I don’t think you should ever take anything personal, because you’re an employee under the boss. So don’t fight with them, bro. Like, it is what it is. Dana, and this is probably what makes Dana a good promoter, is he’s gonna say what he feels. Honestly, I kinda appreciate it, the fact that they don’t give a f—k either,” ‘Triple C’ told Shak MMA.

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Cejudo would know better than most. He also clashed with Dana White years ago over fighter pay and other issues, which strained their relationship for quite some time. With the promotion now operating in the Paramount era, it’ll be interesting to see how things evolve between White and Aspinall, especially with the rematch against Ciryl Gane inching closer.

What do you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.