Tom Aspinall, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, faced an unexpected and brutal eye poke from Ciryl Gane during the main event of UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi. The injury forced Aspinall to stop the fight, which was ultimately ruled a no-contest. While the incident disappointed fans both in the arena and watching via pay-per-view, some critics unfairly targeted Aspinall for not continuing the bout.
Matt Brown, UFC veteran and former welterweight contender, spoke out forcefully against the criticism, defending Aspinall’s choice.
Brown Calls Out Critics
“I’ve really been disgusted with that narrative that you’re talking about where everybody’s blaming Tom Aspinall,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Where did this come from? How did he do anything wrong? People saying ‘oh should have just sucked it up with one eye.’ Get the fck out of here. What are you talking about? We’re not in a death match. This isn’t fcking like Street Fighter. It’s not a video game. This is a professional competition. He wants to win and give himself the best chance of winning.
“For one, I think Tom Aspinall would have continued had there been the right circumstance. Like if his life was on the line or something but he’s like ‘I can’t see out of my eye.’ He probably couldn’t see out of his other eye very well either. The one that got knuckle f*cking deep. It’s like live to fight another day. Try again. If this was anything other than this match, I don’t think it wouldn’t even be talked about that way. This particular match, the circumstances just added up where now Tom Aspinall is an easy target.”
Brown emphasized that fighters who are fouled and cannot continue are often unfairly judged in public opinion.
This is not an isolated case in MMA. Aljamain Sterling faced heavy criticism after an illegal knee against Petr Yan forced a stoppage, even though Sterling was awarded the championship. Similarly, Belal Muhammad received backlash after an eye poke from Leon Edwards, despite the injury being the reason for his temporary inability to continue. Both fighters eventually won in rematches, proving the criticism was misplaced.
Brown sees Aspinall’s decision in the same light.
Eye Poke Safety and Career Considerations
“What sucks is he’s almost in a lose-lose situation at that point,” Brown said. “The only saving grace would have been if went out with one eye and ended up beating the shit out of Ciryl Gane.
“If any other situation happens, it’s a loss for him. [If] he lost, they’re not going to be talking about him getting eye poked and couldn’t see and that’s why he lost.”
Brown also addressed post-fight comments from Chael Sonnen and Anthony Smith, who suggested fighters sometimes have to push through injuries.
“I love both those guys,” Brown said. “I almost hold back saying my real feelings, because I do actually respect and love both Anthony and Chael, especially Anthony, we’ve trained together and we’re friends. When I see Anthony, I really like the guy. I think he’s really smart, and I think he’s a great analyst, by the way. I just think they’re way off base here.
“The fact that they said it straight away on the post-fight show, I don’t know if they didn’t put any thought into it or if it was just an immediate reaction. Because there’s probably a little bit of recency bias where they’re just disappointed the fight didn’t happen. In our heads, we all felt the same way. What about the people that paid $80 to watch it? They’re all like ‘I wanted to see a godmn main event, I don’t care about your eye. I care about my $80.’ I get that recency bias, but you have to look at this realistically, too. Ciryl Gane’s finger went knuckle deep into his fcking eye. This is not a complicated thing. The guy taking a foul getting punished, especially when it’s a f*cking eye poke?”
Rules, Disqualification, and Future Rematch
UFC President Dana White has confirmed plans for a rematch once Aspinall is medically cleared. Brown, however, believes that fouls like Gane’s should result in a disqualification, not a no-contest.
“We are in a sport now, not just a street fight. It is an actual sport,” Brown said. “There are rules. When one guy breaks the rules, the other guy should not deal with the punishment for that. It shouldn’t be a no-contest. It should be a disqualification.
“If you want to set a standard, which is what rules are meant for, to have standards, then you follow that standard and you make a DQ. It doesn’t mean [Ciryl Gane] shouldn’t get another rematch. I think it would be fair to get another rematch but he should get a DQ here.”
Matt Brown blasts critics taking aim at Tom Aspinall after eye poke ended #UFC321:
“There are rules. When one guy breaks the rules, the other guy should not deal with the punishment for that. It shouldn’t be a no-contest. It should be a disqualification.”
(🎥 @DamonMartin) pic.twitter.com/BwCMa8GNkq
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) October 28, 2025
