Tom Aspinall’s long-awaited return to the UFC Octagon ended in bizarre and dispiriting fashion on Saturday, as his contest with Ciryl Gane was derailed by an eye poke.
In the very first round of Aspinall’s first defence of the undisputed heavyweight title, he was poked in both eyes at the same time, leading to a five-round pause in the action.
But after Aspinall was checked on by officials, it was deemed that the Briton could not continue, and the UFC 321 main event was declared a No Contest due to an “accidental foul”.
It was a deflating and unexpected ending in Abu Dhabi after so much hype, with Aspinall due to defend the undisputed belt after being elevated from interim champion this summer, following the retirement of Jon Jones – who held the official belt at the time.
Elsewhere tonight, Mackenzie Dern overcame Virna Jandiroba to win the vacant women’s strawweight title, and local favourite Umar Nurmagomedov beat Mario Bautista. Follow live updates and results below, as The Independent reports from Abu Dhabi.
UFC 321 results in full
*(C) denotes champion
Tom Aspinall (C) vs. Ciryl Gane ends in no contest after unintentional eye poke
Mackenzie Dern (C) def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
Umar Nurmagomedov def. Mario Bautista via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alexander Volkov def. Jailton Almeida via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Azamat Murzakanov def. Aleksandar Rakic via first-round TKO (punches)
Quillan Salkilld def. Nasrat Haqparast via first-round knockout (head kick)
Ikram Aliskerov def. Jun Yong Park via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ludovit Klein def. Mateusz Rebecki via majority decision (29-28, 28-27, 28-28)
Valter Walker def. Louie Sutherland via first-round submission (heel hook)
Nathaniel Wood def. Jose Delgado via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Chris Barnett via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27, 29-27)
Mitch Raposo def Azat Maksum via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
Mizuki def. Jaqueline Amorim via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
UFC eye poke rule explained after Tom Aspinall’s UFC 321 fight is ruined
Wondering why Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest rather than a DQ or Gane win?
Our man on the ground Alex Pattle explains the rules:
Tom Aspinall’s first undisputed title defence ends in dispiriting no-contest
Ciryl Gane distraught after accidental eye-poke
Not many make it out the first round with Tom Aspinall, but Ciryl Gane was very much on course to doing so. He was fighting so well. Heartbreak all round.
Ciryl Gane: ‘I’m not going to say he’s a liar’
“I think I started very well, defending a takedown and touching him. We saw some blood on his nose. It was a really great first round,” Gane said.
“I really wanted to continue the fight. I was at first angry. After I was disappointed, sad, and after that… apologetic for the people.
“I know what it is to get an eye poke, because I got one against Derrick Lewis and I was seeing two Derrick Lewis. So, I’m not gonna say, ‘Yeah, he’s a liar.'”
Tom Aspinall retains his UFC heavyweight champion
Not the “And Still!” any of us were hoping for.
A no-contest means Tom Aspinall retains his UFC heavyweight title. I doubt that will act as any saving grace for the champ.
Dana White: ‘I can’t make anyone fight’
“I can’t make anyone fight,” White said. “Only Tom knows if he could see, if he couldn’t – if he could fight, if he couldn’t.”
Dana White speaks on the problem of eye-pokes
Eye-pokes are a problem in MMA. They always have been, and Dana White thinks they always will be.
The UFC trialled then ditched new gloves last year, based on eye-poke issues.
“No matter what you do with the gloves, it’s going to happen,” White said.
Asked if there was any way of telling is an eye-poke was intentional, White snapped: “Who the f*** knows? Who gives a s***? What are you gonna do?”
Dana White confirms UFC WILL book rematch
When asked if he the UFC will book a rematch, he replied: “Yeah, total pain in the a***, but yes.
“Yeah, I mean, they’re both in shape – other than whatever is wrong with his eye. Both guys are not injured, so, as soon as possible.”
Dana White reacts to ruined UFC 321 main event
“I mean, I feel the way everybody feels,” he said. “Great showing, s****y ending.
“I think that after the [Jon] Jones fight, a lot of people wrote Ciryl Gane off, he looked damn good tonight. Looked like we were in for a few rounds.”
