‘Why are you booing?’ – Furious Aspinall retains UFC title after eye poke

After Ciryl Gane’s accidental eye poke made Tom Aspinall unable to continue at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, his first attempt to defend his undisputed heavyweight title was met with bitter disappointment.

The referee ended the match when France’s Gane attempted a punch and ended the contest by stopping Aspinall in both eyes.

Aspinall, 32, was seen holding a cloth to his eye as he was reportedly told, “I can’t see,” and the referee decided the fight was a no-contest due to the Briton’s inability to fight on.

Aspinall continued to hold his title after the outcome, but not in the way he had hoped, and he expressed his frustration in his post-fight interview as the audience applauded the outcome.

“Guys, I was just knuckled in the eyeball knuckle-deep. What’s up with you, booing? A distraught Aspinall yelled, “I can’t see.

“The fight was just getting going,” he said. I’m hardly able to focus on anything. Look ! A double eyed poke was used.

After the fight, Aspinall was taken to a hospital, but he did not attend the post-fight press conference.

The referee deeming the incident to be accidental rather than intentional, which would have resulted in a disqualification.

Aspinall would have profited from a disqualification.

Gane could be seen pacing around the octagon, shaking his head, as the outcome was announced, and being equally irritated by it.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I’m sorry for the crowd, the fans, Tom Aspinall, and myself, Gane said.

“This is the sport, this is life, and we put a lot of effort into this fight,” I said disappointed.

Aspinall stated his intention to move the heavyweight division, and the fight was touted as a beginning of a new era for the organization.

Aspinall received cheers throughout fight week, while Gane received booes on the other hand.

The support grew jeers when the Briton was unable to continue the fight, but the cheering grew on fight night as the arena’s “Tommy Aspinall” chants rang out throughout the entire.

Aspinall, who had been appointed interim champion in June after Jon Jones’ retirement, was now defending his belt for the first time.

He waited for an uncontested fight with Jones while remaining in charge for 19 months.

Because Gane tested Aspinall before none of his previous UFC opponents, the outcome is all the more upsetting.

Aspinall entered the fight with seven of his eight first-round UFC victories, but he was unable to overthrow Gane.

Gane used skilled footwork to keep away from Aspinall’s dangerous range while performing quick one-twos and leg kicks.

Aspinall had the most damage from the two, with blood pouring from his nose prior to the eye poke.

After the eye poke, Aspinall, the UFC president, said at the post-fight press conference that he didn’t want to go on.

He then suggested that Gane and the pair hold a rematch, which would generate more interest than the first fight, due to Gane’s impressive performance.

He said, “I think the rematch will be much more interesting because it’s unfortunate that it ended the way it did.”

Tom was bloodied up and refusing to continue fighting, Gane claimed. Therefore, a rematch is very intriguing.

The Briton was clearly distressed after the incident, and reports claimed Gane’s fingers had slit deeply into both Aspinall’s eyes.

Aspinall’s frustrations following the fight also reflect his bitter disappointment with the way the match ended, which he repeatedly told the referee he could not see.

I can’t start a fight, I promise. When asked about whether the fight could continue, White said, “You can’t make someone continue if they feel they’ve been injured.”

Aspinall might be able to get a spot on the UFC 324 card in January given that the main UFC 323 events are already being announced.

Aspinall has suffered a serious knee injury in the first round of the 2022 defeat against Curtis Blaydes.

However, he will take comfort from the fact that, in the best form of his life, he won his next three fights in the first round. He bounced back after a year out injured.

With only four uncontested title fights taking place in almost four years, this is the most recent blow for Aspinall and the heavyweight division.

Brazilian-American Mackenzie Dern won the strawweight belt and her first UFC title in Abu Dhabi when she defeated Brazilian-American Virna Jandiroba.

Main Card :

a preliminary report