Join the Miguel Delaney Inside Football Join the Miguel Delaney Inside newsletter to get exclusive access and unparalleled insight. Football Join the Miguel Delaney Inside newsletter Football Tom Aspinall left to lament the situation “bull****” ending to his UFC 321 title fight on Saturday, after he was poked in the eyes by Ciryl Gane.Britain’s Aspinall was defending the undisputed heavyweight title for the first time, in a main event in Abu Dhabi, when he was poked in both eyes at the same time in the first round.• Follow live: UFC 321 fallout and fury after Gane eye poke ends Aspinall title fightThat foul by Gane led to a customary pause in the action of five minutes maximum, but after Aspinall was checked on by the referee and a doctor, it was deemed that he could not continue.As such, the fight was declared a No Contest due to an “accidental foul”The fans at Etihad Arena were shocked by the ending and booed.“I just got poked knuckled-deep in the eyeball,” Aspinall, 32 years old, said in an interview after his fight in the cage. “What the f***, why are you booing? What am I supposed to do about it? I didn’t do the poke, I can’t see!“This is bulls***. The fight was just getting going. Look at this, a double eye poke,” He then continued to point at the slow motion replay on the large screen.Gane, 35 years old, also received boos during his post-fight interviews in the Octagon. “I’m very sorry about this,” He said “for the crowd, for Tom Aspinall, for myself. This is the sport.”UFC president Dana White later said Aspinall had been transported to a local hospital, and hinted that the promotion would arrange a rematch as soon as possible.Wigan’s Aspinall had last fought in July 2024, knocking out Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds to retain the interim heavyweight belt in Manchester, having made the rare decision to defend it. Gane was also a UFC 321 competitor after winning a controversial fight against Alexander Volkov last December.
2025-10-25 22:41:51
Tom Aspinall rages after freak eye poke ends UFC 321 title fight vs Cyril Gane
