Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane faced off in the UFC 321 main event in Abu Dhabi, but the bout ended abruptly in a no-contest after an accidental eye poke left Aspinall unable to continue. The result frustrated fans and fighters alike, cutting short what had been a highly anticipated heavyweight matchup.
Following the fight, Aspinall reacted strongly to the outcome, visibly upset at the crowd’s response and the abrupt end to his first title defense.
“This is bullshit,” Aspinall exclaimed. “The fight was just getting going. Complete bullshit. I’m pissed off. I can hardly open my eye. F*cking double poke, both eyeballs.”
Ciryl Gane also expressed his disappointment, acknowledging the unfortunate nature of the incident. “I feel sorry, I’m very sorry about that for the crowd, for the fans,” Gane said. “I’m sorry for Tom Aspinall. I’m sorry for myself. I’m really disappointed but this is the sport. I don’t know what’s going to happen for the future. We will see.”
Dana White Reacts
UFC President Dana White addressed the ending at the post-fight press conference, praising the performance while acknowledging the unsatisfying finish.
“I feel the way everybody feels. Great showing, shitty ending,” White said. “I think that after the Jon Jones fight, a lot of people wrote Ciryl Gane off. He looked damn good tonight. It looked like we were in for a few rounds, and it was going to be a good fight.”
White emphasized that fighter safety is paramount and that he cannot force competitors to continue if they are injured.
“I can’t make people fight. If I want to put together a fight, I can’t make people fight. You definitely can’t make somebody continue if they feel they’ve been injured. Only Tom knows what happened. Could he see? Couldn’t he see? Could he continue? Only he knows that.”
Imagine your own promoter saying you, Tom Aspinall, the UFC heavyweight champion of the world, “didn’t want to continue in the fight” instead of admitting you literally couldn’t continue because your eyes were mangled by a double eye poke.
Insane “promotional” approach.
If… pic.twitter.com/059JSlDyqO
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) October 25, 2025
Plans for a Rematch
Despite the disappointing outcome, White confirmed that a rematch between Aspinall and Gane is set to happen.
“Total pain in the ass but yes [we’ll book the rematch],” White said. “They’re both in shape, other than whatever’s wrong with his eye. Both guys are not injured. As soon as possible.”
White also praised Gane’s performance, noting that the unexpected level of competition makes the rematch even more compelling.
“I think that because of the Jon Jones fight, I think everybody was sleeping on Ciryl Gane and kind of wrote him off,” White added. “I feel like, I’m sure in his camp he was training like an animal for this fight and it’s unfortunately that it ended the way that it did. I think that there probably will be a lot more interest in the rematch after they saw he had Tom bloodied up. Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight. The rematch is very interesting.” via MMAFighting
Aspinall was taken to a local hospital immediately after the fight to assess his eye injury. While he retains the heavyweight title, he will need time to recover before scheduling the rematch. The heavyweight division remains in limbo as fans wait for the next chapter in this rivalry.
