Tom Aspinall’s first outing as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion ended in heartbreak when his title defense against Ciryl Gane was halted due to an accidental eye poke. The main event of UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi came to an abrupt close just over four minutes into the opening round, leaving fans frustrated and the champion unable to continue.
Referee Marc Goddard ruled the foul accidental, which meant the result was declared a no contest. Had it been intentional, Gane would have faced disqualification.
A visibly emotional Aspinall addressed the crowd immediately after the stoppage:
“Guys, I just got poked knuckle deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing? I can’t see,” he said. “The fight was just getting going. I can hardly open my eye. Look! It was a double eye poke.”
The incident reignited a long-standing issue within the sport — how to reduce eye pokes that can alter or end major fights.
😳🩸Daniel Cormier says he saw Tom Aspinall backstage and his left eye was still bandaged
🗣️”What’s crazy is his left eye took the deep knuckle strike,while the right side was more scraped.
The left eye would’ve been harder to deal with if not for the pain on the left side.” pic.twitter.com/X0A5Qumwow
— mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) October 27, 2025
Rogan’s Simple Fix for a Persistent Problem
Veteran UFC commentator Joe Rogan has spoken about this issue for years, and once again used his platform to highlight what he sees as an obvious solution: redesigning the gloves.
Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, he explained that covering fighters’ fingertips could eliminate most of these accidents without compromising performance.
“I keep saying it, but I feel they should cover those fingertips,” Rogan said on his podcast. “You’ve got to cover the fingers. There’s no reason to not cover the fingers like a bad glove. Just have a piece of leather that goes over the fingertips, so you have one thing. It’s not gonna invade your grappling, and it’s not gonna change your striking. It’s not going to change anything.”
Rogan elaborated that such a glove design would not alter a fighter’s control or precision but could make a major difference in safety.
“This way, at least if you get poked in the eye you are getting a blunt thing, you are not getting something that goes into your eyeball,” Rogan said. “Have them all covered and have a soft-foamed ridge over the top of it. So even if you are getting poked in the eyes, you are not getting an individual thing going deep into your eyeball with an eyeball, which is what you get now.”
Following the stoppage, Aspinall was transported to a local hospital for evaluation, missing the post-fight press conference. Gane, who was also visibly disappointed, stated that the result was not the way he wanted the night to end.
Rogan’s remarks have added pressure for the UFC to consider equipment updates, especially as eye poke-related stoppages continue to frustrate fans and fighters alike.
For Rogan, the message remains consistent — the answer doesn’t lie in stricter rules, but in better gear design.
https://www.youtube.com/@joerogan/videos
