UFC 321 took a shocking turn when Tom Aspinall‘s first title defense ended abruptly after a double eye-poke. Unable to continue, Aspinall saw his main event bout with Ciryl Gane ruled a no contest. The finish sparked a mixed reaction across the MMA community, including from Dana White, who revealed what’s next for both.
Before the incident, Gane looked confident and was performing well. He landed clean strikes and even bloodied Aspinall’s nose in the fight.
White expressed disappointment that the fight ended the way it did and questioned the heavyweight champion’s decision to stop. He also wondered whether Aspinall couldn’t see or wanted out of the fight.
“I can’t make people fight. If I want to put together a fight, I can’t make people fight, and you definitely can’t make somebody continue if they feel they’ve been injured,” White said during the UFC 321 post-fight press conference. Only Tom knows what happened. Could he see? Couldn’t he see? Could he continue? Only Tom knows that.”
Due to the ending, White also confirmed that there will be an immediate rematch between Aspinall and Gane.
“It’s unfortunate it ended the way that it did and yes, I think that there probably will be a lot more interest in the rematch, ” White said. “I never do this when it comes to talking about what next fight is going to happen. The rematch is what makes sense.”
The UFC CEO revealed he plans to book the rematch once Aspinall receives clearance to return to the octagon.
Tom Aspinall Reacts to Double Eye-Poke
Tom Aspinall also shared his immediate reaction after the fight ended due to an accidental double eye-poke.
The heavyweight champion looked visibly upset and addressed the crowd’s boos during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. Aspinall explained the severity of the eye-poke and his decision to not continue.
“Guys, I just got [expletive] poked knuckle deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing?” Aspinall said. “What am I supposed to do about it? I didn’t do the [expletive] poke, I can’t see.”
He added:
“The fight was just getting going. Complete [expletive]. I can hardly open my eye. [Expletive] double poke, both eyeballs.”
Aspinall’s frustration was clear, and his comments later sparked a debate among fans and analysts.
Dana White Praises Gane’s Performance Against Aspinall at UFC 321
Despite the controversy, White praised Gane’s performance against at UFC 321. He was said ‘Bon Gamin’ looked impressive before the eye-poke to Aspinall stopped the fight.
White recalled how fans doubted Gane after his submission loss to Jon Jones. The UFC CEO believes he silenced his critics with his performance against Aspinall.
White also believes the fight proves that Gane is a worthy contender and championship caliber fighter.
“Great showing, [expletive] ending. I think that after the Jones fight, a lot of people wrote Ciryl Gane off, he looked damn good tonight,” White said during his post-event press conference. “It looked like we were in for a few rounds, and it was going to be a good fight.”
Based on what transpired at UFC 321, the rematch between Aspinall and Gane will be a lot more intriguing.
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