Tom Aspinall has beaten almost every opponent he’s faced in the cage, but he’s not going to win if he takes on UFC CEO Dana White.
That’s the message former two-division champion Henry Cejudo is sharing with the heavyweight champ after Aspinall’s disappointing UFC 321 No Contest with Ciryl Gane. Aspinall was poked in both eyes badly and is currently sidelined with potentially career-altering injuries on account of it. He clearly feels like he hasn’t gotten support from White over the incident, and it feels like their
relationship is souring because of it.
Not a good fight to pick, according to Cejudo … who knows more than a little about battling with the boss.
“The biggest thing that Tom needs to take from all this is … he has to remember that Dana White’s a promoter,” Cejudo told Shakiel Mahjouri. “He’s a fighter. Dana White has never fought in the cage before. My mentor told me that, because I was pissed at Dana too.”
“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.”
Cejudo, like other flyweight champions before him, never really got the respect he deserved from UFC brass. That led him to drop both his titles and retire in 2020 after negotiations for bigger fights and bigger pay didn’t pan out. If he thought White would chase him down and beg for him to come back, he read the situation very wrong. He ended up spending three years on the sidelines before coming back for this three-fight skid.
Aspinall has a choice to make now, too. He can continue to discuss all the reasons he’s upset with the UFC and Dana White — some valid, some not — and risk the ire of the promotion. Or he can play the game, keep his opinions to himself, and let his experiences guide his decision-making once the final two fights on his contract are up.
As for Cejudo, he says his fight against Payton Talbott at UFC 323 this Saturday, December 6th will be his final fight … unless the UFC is willing to match him up with Brandon Moreno in Mexico. Given how previous retirement ultimatums have gone, maybe Cejudo needs to listen to his own advice.
