White's stance on Aspinall leaves saga on a knife edge

After Tom Aspinall was poked in both eyes and was unable to keep fighting Ciryl Gane, the UFC president Dana White's frustrated reaction might have been telling

- Alex Pattle

It seems a thankless task, being a “good soldier” in the fight world. You can take a world-title fight on two weeks’ notice against one of the most dangerous heavyweights on the planet. Weigh in as the backup fighter for a pointless vanity fight involving one of the most problematic athletes in all of sport. Defend your interim title when almost no one else would. Sit out for 15 months, waiting for said problematic athlete to decide whether or not to fight you, only for him to retire. Suffer an eye poke that leaves you without your sight for four days - and counting - and sends you in and out of hospitals. And after all of that, your boss can accuse you of not wanting to fight.