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 back-up 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.
When Ciryl Gane’s middle knuckle met Tom Aspinall’s orbital bone, it was not as part of a closed fist; it was part of a probing, gouging finger, venturing under the UFC heavyweight champion’s eyelid and along his eyeball. Aspinall could not continue fighting – this seems an obvious, even unnecessary statement to make, given the context. But that was the case, with Aspinall withdrawing four-and-a-half minutes into his first defence of the undisputed belt, prioritising his vision, health, and ability to look after his children, let alone fight in the future.
