It ain’t going too well for the heavyweight champion, is it? Ever since the fallout from the UFC 321 headliner last weekend, Tom Aspinall has been taking hit after hit from both the UFC and its fanbase for what they believe was an obvious quit after the eye poke. As if all that wasn’t enough, fellow heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who faced the same issue against his opponent—and Aspinall’s friend—Ante Delija last night, decided to use the opportunity to take a massive jibe at the heavyweight champion.

Yes, Waldo Cortes-Acosta was poked in the eye in the first round of his UFC Vegas 110 fight yesterday. He took some time, but, unlike Aspinall, soon returned to action, despite losing a bit of his vision, only to knock out Tom Aspinall‘s teammate in the opening round. In a message to his employer expressing his willingness to take on any challenge, Cortes-Acosta said during a backstage interview with Megan Olivi, “Dana, you see one heavyweight that can push forward. I don’t care if I get poked in the eye. I can fight. I can fight right now again.”

The Dominican native also took the opportunity to get Tom Aspinall’s attention. He taunted the Englishman and shared his prediction of a potential fight between them. And if you’ve guessed it, yes, he envisions a similar KO win. “It [was because] of him being a champion [that he was able to quit] because of a poke in the eye, too,” Cortes-Acosta stated during the post-fight presser. “[Ante Delija is Tom Aspinall’s] training partner. I do him, like, knock him out in the first round. [What would] happen if me and Tom Aspinall fight?”

Well, Waldo Cortes-Acosta is not a typical finisher, but all three of his finishes in the UFC have been knockouts. After seeing how Ciryl Gane impressed during his brief showing against Tom Aspinall, counting out the Dominican fighter might be a bit immature. But despite Cortes-Acosta’s harsh criticism of the champion for giving up at UFC 321, the Salford native continues to find support from people in the MMA industry. One of the recent ones was Dan Hooker.

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Dana Hooker extends his support to Tom Aspinall

Dan Hooker appears to be having none of what the critics have to say about Tom Aspinall. He claims that the eye poke was bad enough for the champion to call the fight off. ‘The Hangman’ has been hearing what the other fighters have to say about continuing to fight even if they got poked. Hooker says that such bold statements “in theory, it always sounds good.”

“Am I Tom Aspinall? because I am leaving. That was bad, bro. When I’ve seen the video…you look across at the other finger and you go holy wreck, he’s trying to dig his brain stem out,” Dan Hooker stated during a recent interview. When he was asked if he would have continued to fight if he were in Tom Aspinall’s position that night, he replied, “Nah, nah, nah, we’re stopping.”

There are always two sides to a coin, and such is the MMA fan base right now when it comes to the Tom Aspinall situation. So, let us know your thoughts on Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s comments about the champion in the comments down below.