When Tom Aspinall’s first title protection at UFC 321 on October 25, 2025 resulted in a no-contest following a brutal double eye poke from Cyril Gane, the heavyweight champion’s choice to withdraw grew to become the main target of in depth debate. The incident occurred at 4:35 of the primary spherical contained in the Etihad Area in Abu Dhabi, with referee Jason Herzog pressured to cease the bout after Aspinall repeatedly instructed ringside officers that he couldn’t be seen.
Chel Sonnen and Anthony Smith speak about UFC 321
Nevertheless, former UFC title challengers Chel Sonnen and Anthony Smith have been fast to supply feedback suggesting the undisputed heavyweight champion ought to have overcome the harm and continued preventing. Their views sparked appreciable backlash from the MMA group, with followers and analysts pushing again as unrealistic expectations for a champion going through a real medical disaster.
On ESPN’s postgame present, Sonnen straight addressed Aspinall’s choice, saying preventing with one eye is normal observe within the sport. “It is unlawful for Brendan to be poked within the eye, however preventing with one eye is frequent,” Sonnen defined.
“They’re making an attempt to punch you within the eye. They’re making an attempt to crush you and provide you with a nosebleed. So there is a query mark in that space for guys like Anthony and me. We attempt to be civil. We attempt to present grace, however to be truthful, you are the heavyweight champion of the world. Generally you need to battle with one eye.”
Sonnen additionally steered that Aspinall was struggling greater than anticipated and should have taken the chance to exit the sport. “I assumed the battle turned out to be a bit tougher than perhaps Tom anticipated,” he continued, pointing to the truth that Aspinall has defeated six opponents in a single spherical throughout his UFC profession.
Anthony Smith echoed this view, recounting his personal expertise in Singapore when he was poked within the eye throughout a battle with Ryan Spann. “I am not saying it is Tom’s fault, and I am not pretending to understand how unhealthy it’s or is not,” Smith mentioned.
“I feel Chell made the poetic level that you need to be used to preventing with one eye or be keen to battle with one eye. I did that in Singapore. If you wish to proceed preventing, you may by no means say ‘I am unable to see.'” Smith steered that he was in a position to proceed competing by staying calm and sustaining cautious communication with the referee, and steered Aspinall might have adopted an identical technique.
MMA fan response
Widespread criticism from followers and analysts refuted each tales. John S. Nash tweeted on social media, “Two guys who’ve by no means held a title have lots of concepts about how a champion ought to act,” a sentiment that will be echoed throughout a number of platforms.
A Reddit thread discussing the incident was stuffed with customers defending Aspinall whereas questioning the credibility of the criticism. One extremely upvoted remark highlighted the distinction in stakes, mentioning that Aspinall’s standing as heavyweight champion meant that an harm would have far better penalties than what Smith skilled. Commentators famous the severity of the attention harm, saying, “If you happen to get poked laborious sufficient, the eyeball itself might explode,” and questioned whether or not it was logically right to match title defenses to non-title matches.
One other recurring theme locally’s response centered round Dana White’s personal feedback in the course of the postgame press convention. Requested concerning the rematch, White mentioned, “Tom did not need the battle to proceed,” slightly than admit that the champion was medically unable to proceed. This expression induced appreciable anger. One blended martial arts analyst wrote on social media: “Think about in case your promoter instructed UFC Heavyweight World Champion Tom Aspinall, ‘I did not need the battle to proceed,’ as a substitute of admitting that he could not proceed as a result of he was actually gored within the eye. That is an insane ‘promotional’ method.”
The attention poke itself was critical sufficient to require instant medical consideration. Sluggish-motion replays confirmed each of Gehn’s fingers getting into Aspinall’s eyes on the identical time, with one reportedly penetrating so deep that the center joint was the primary seen half. Aspinall was taken to an Abu Dhabi hospital for analysis after the battle, however the harm was proven to be critical sufficient to require knowledgeable medical analysis past cage-side analysis.
Aspinall’s instant response contained in the octagon offered additional context to his choice. The irritated champion responded to boos from the gang and defined his place clearly: “I bought knuckled at the back of my eyeball. What ought to I do? I am unable to see,” he mentioned. “That is bull*t. The battle simply began. Completely bull*t. I am pissed. I can barely open my eyes.”
Criticism additionally prolonged to perceived inconsistencies in expectations. A number of group members identified that if a top-ranked fighter like Jon Jones or one other former champion had confronted the identical state of affairs, the story may need been instructed otherwise. The selective nature of the scrutiny probably influenced how harshly Aspinall was judged in comparison with different rivals who’ve confronted comparable medical conditions in latest UFC historical past.
Cyril Gane, regardless of being an out-and-out combatant, garnered extra sympathy from the group than Aspinall. Gane expressed his honest disappointment within the end result within the post-match press convention, stating that he regarded aggressive within the early exchanges and felt he was in a position to execute his sport plan successfully. “I feel we had an excellent kickoff. Everybody is aware of that I begin with the jab and he tries to catch his opponent off guard,” Gane defined. “I blocked the takedown and made contact. I seen blood coming from his nostril, however it was a fantastic first spherical.”
Dana White gave his opinion within the postgame press convention and tried to steadiness the state of affairs. “I am unable to make folks battle, and I undoubtedly cannot make folks proceed once they really feel they’re damage…Tom did not need to proceed.”
