UFC 321’s heavyweight main event between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane ended in chaos rather than closure. The highly anticipated matchup was shaping up to be one of the division’s most technical battles, but an accidental eye poke from Gane halted the fight in the opening round.
Despite medical clearance suggesting he could continue, Aspinall couldn’t regain clear vision, forcing the referee to call an end to the contest. The result was ruled a no contest, and the English fighter’s father, Andy Aspinall, later confirmed that Tom continued to experience vision issues in the days that followed.
Francis Ngannou Steps In To Support Aspinall
While fans voiced frustration over the abrupt ending, Francis Ngannou—the former UFC heavyweight champion who never lost his title in the Octagon—shared his thoughts with TMZ and publicly supported Aspinall’s decision to stop fighting.
“I think that eye poke made a lot of news, more than the fight itself,” Ngannou said. “More than the announcement of the fight for sure. It was a very controversial feeling and I understand that there was a lot of frustration on the fan side that were so excited to see the outcome. But that was definitely an eye poke and it compromised vision from Tom. So I think the normal decision in that position is not to fight because an eye poke is not like you get kicked in the balls and you can recover and come back.
“It’s not like a pain, you are compromising your vision. And if you are doing a combat sport with compromised vision it is not good at all. Then if you still can’t see anything what if your vision is permanently compromised? Then if you keep going and maybe because of that you lose the fight, the same people will be saying how stupid you were. You should have stopped, blah, blah, blah. I see their frustration but there was an eye poke that did cause damage and affected vision.”
Dana White Confirms Aspinall’s Recovery
After the fight, UFC CEO Dana White called the situation “devastating,” admitting he was disappointed to see such a promising main event end under those circumstances.
“When you’re in the main event and it’s heating up, and it looks like it’s gonna be a really good fight, and then it ends with an eye poke, it’s brutal,” White said during an appearance on The Jim Rome Show.
White also provided an update on Aspinall’s health:
“He’s at home. He’s recovering. As soon as he’s able to fight again, we’ll book the rematch. As far as I know, there’s no detached retina or any damage to the eye. He should heal up soon, and we’ll figure out when we can make the fight again.”
“He should heal up soon and we’ll figure out when we can make the fight again.”@DanaWhite gives an update on Tom Aspinall following the ‘no contest’ versus Ciryl Gane at #UFC321. pic.twitter.com/4wQE09bWsm
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) November 6, 2025
When Could the Rematch Happen?
While the UFC hasn’t officially confirmed its 2026 event calendar, early reports suggest a rematch between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane could take place during the first half of the year.
According to journalist Nolan King, the UFC has already requested a permit for January 24 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which is expected to host UFC 324. A summer rematch, possibly tied to the promotion’s planned White House event in June, also remains a potential slot.
The UFC has requested an event permit for Jan. 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That’ll likely be #UFC324 pic.twitter.com/VvhqqCYGH8
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) November 6, 2025
