Tom Aspinall has beaten almost every opponent he\u2019s faced in the cage, but he\u2019s not going to win if he takes on UFC CEO Dana White.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the message former two-division champion Henry Cejudo is sharing with the heavyweight champ after Aspinall\u2019s disappointing UFC 321 No Contest<\/a> 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<\/a> like he hasn\u2019t gotten support from White<\/a> over the incident, and it feels like their relationship is souring because of it.<\/p>\n Not a good fight to pick, according to Cejudo \u2026 who knows more than a little about battling with the boss.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest thing that Tom needs to take from all this is \u2026 he has to remember that Dana White\u2019s a promoter,\u201d Cejudo told Shakiel Mahjouri. \u201cHe\u2019s a fighter. Dana White has never fought in the cage before. My mentor told me that, because I was pissed at Dana too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think you should ever take anything personal, because you\u2019re an employee under the boss. So don\u2019t fight with them, bro. Like, it is what it is. Dana, and this is probably what makes Dana a good promoter, is he\u2019s gonna say what he feels. Honestly, I kinda appreciate it, the fact that they don\u2019t give a f–k either.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019t pan out.<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Aspinall has a choice to make now, too. He can continue to discuss all the reasons he\u2019s upset with the UFC and Dana White \u2014 some valid, some not<\/a> \u2014 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<\/a> are up.<\/p>\n