Tom Aspinall Accuses Ciryl Gane of Intentional Eye Poke at UFC 321

In a controversial turn of events at UFC 321, the heavyweight title bout between Ciryl Gane and Tom Aspinall ended in a no contest due to an eye poke inflicted by Gane. This incident left Aspinall unable to continue, prompting the English fighter to publicly share his medical report detailing the injuries he sustained. The move aimed to counter claims suggesting he was looking for an exit from the fight.

After taking time to reflect on the incident, Aspinall has concluded that Gane’s actions were not accidental, but rather intentional. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aspinall addressed fans’ questions regarding UFC 321, including comments made by UFC President Dana White about the foul. Aspinall expressed his belief that Gane deliberately attempted to bend the rules to gain an advantage.

“I watched the fight back, and that’s when I really got the gist of what’s going on,” Aspinall stated. “The guy was trying to poke my eyes out throughout that round. In nearly every exchange where I could put him in danger, he had his fingers pointing toward my eyes.” He characterized Gane’s conduct as cheating from the very beginning and claimed that Gane aimed to compromise him by using underhanded tactics.

Aspinall referenced a quote from Jon Jones, who had previously described Gane as a “cheater” before their own fight at UFC 285 in March 2023. The criticism from Jones, a former champion widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history, added weight to Aspinall’s accusations. In a post-fight press conference, Jones had remarked, “I’ve noticed in a lot of Ciryl Gane’s fights, he hits people in the back of the head quite a bit. I didn’t want any type of dirty play happening on such a big night.”

Despite acknowledging Gane’s tendency to commit fouls, Jones has taken the opportunity to mock Aspinall since the no contest. Following the UFC 321 main event, Jones criticized Aspinall’s performance and even altered his social media profile pictures to include a duck, responding to claims he was ‘ducking’ a fight with Aspinall. He later added an eye patch to the image as a nod to the eye poke incident.

In a playful jab, Jones also appeared at the Dirty Boxing 4 weigh-ins riding a horse while sporting an eye patch, further highlighting the fallout from the UFC 321 bout.

As the situation develops, both fighters will be looking to establish their paths forward in the heavyweight division, with fans eagerly anticipating their next moves.