Tom Aspinall labelled his first undisputed heavyweight title defence ‘bulls***’ after it was stopped in the first round.
Aspinall met Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, hoping to get his highly anticipated title reign off to a super start.
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The UFC heavyweight champion was distraught after the fight endedCredit: Getty
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He suffered a nasty eye poke with 25 seconds to go in the opening round and the fight was ruled a no-contestCredit: TNT Sports
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Aspinall and Gane were on it in the opening exchanges – the result has left both men devastatedCredit: AFP
However, with just 25 seconds left in the opening round, his 10th UFC fight was shockingly stopped.
Aspinall came out filled with energy in the opening exchanges, but Gane, quite unexpectedly, matched his pace.
The Englishman attempted an early takedown, but his French counterpart defended well and hit back with some stiff jabs and inside leg kicks.
Aspinall was laughing as time ticked on, but his nose began leaking heavily as both men continued to size one another up.
The pair kept trading blows until Gane, who had made an excellent start to the fight, went for a kick and his left hand sank deep into Aspinall’s eyes.
Aspinall was allowed time to recover from the extremely painful-looking blow, but after admitting he could no longer see out of one eye, the fight was stopped, and the crowd inside Etihad Arena wasn’t happy.
“Guys, I just got poked knuckle deep in the eye ball, why the f** are you booing?” a devastated Aspinall said, responding to the noise of the fans to UFC commentator Daniel Cormier in the aftermath.
“This is bulls***, the fight was just getting going. I can hardly open my eye.”
MMA Mania have reported that the UFC heavyweight champion was rushed directly to the hospital after the fight to seek additional medical attention.
Gane, who was left in tears due to the result, said he was ‘very sorry’ when speaking to Cormier after the bout, but admitted it was part and parcel of the sport.
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Aspinall looked pained for several minutes before the bout was ruled a no-contestCredit: AFP
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He told the UFC’s doctor: “He f***ing poked me right in the eyeball.”Credit: AFP
UFC 321 Main Card Results
Stalemate main event
Tom Aspinall (c) vs Ciryl Gane – no contestMackenzie Dern def. Virna Jandiroba, Decision (unanimous)Umar Nurmagomedov def. Mario Bautista, Decision (unanimous)Alexander Volkov def. Jailton Almeida, Decision (split)Azamat Murzakanov def. Aleksandar Rakic, KO (punches)Aspinall wants ‘old school’ UFC heavyweight title reign
Speaking to talkSPORT.com ahead of the no-contest, Aspinall declared that he wants to go ‘old school’ in his heavyweight title reign and clear out the division.
He also addressed a potential future switch to boxing amid comments from his dad, Andy, who said in September that he would ‘love’ Aspinall to box when his UFC contract expires.
Andy doubled down on his thoughts in the build-up to UFC 321, insisting that he doesn’t want his son to sign a new deal when his current contract runs out.
Aspinall now has just two fights left on his current UFC contract, and although he told talkSPORT.com that boxing isn’t something he’s thought much about, he did leave the door open to extending his 1-0 professional record if the timing was right.
What is Aspinall’s UFC record?
Aspinall is now eight wins from 10 in the UFC, having suffered the first no-contest decision of his professional MMA career.
His only defeat came via a gruesome knee injury he suffered against Curtis Blaydes in July 2022.
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Aspinall was reportedly rushed straight to hospital after the main eventCredit: AFP
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Aspinall is still the UFC heavyweight champion – despite the eye pokeCredit: Getty / Jordan Brightman-Charles talkSPORT
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Gane wss in tears upon the conclusion of UFC 321Credit: AFP
After making a name for himself at Cage Warriors in 2019, Aspinall embarked on a fight-five winning streak at the beginning of his UFC career.
The 32-year-old stopped Jake Collier in 45 seconds on his UFC debut in July 2020 before making quick work of Alan Baudot in his next fight three months later.
Aspinall proved he belonged among MMA’s elite by defeating former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and continued his undefeated streak by viciously knocking out Serghei Spivac before he submitted Alexander Volkov in one round in his first headline event at UFC London in March 2022.
In the form of his life, Aspinall met Blaydes in his second consecutive London main event four months later, but the Briton was carried out of the O2 Arena on a stretcher after throwing a leg kick that tore his MCL and meniscus, and caused damage to his ACL.
After one year out of the sport, Aspinall bounced back with an emphatic KO win over Marcin Tybura in another London headliner before he was awarded a shot at the interim heavyweight title.
Aspinall kept the momentum by finishing Sergei Pavlovich in 69 seconds at UFC 295 before defending his status as the UFC interim heavyweight champion against Blaydes in a Manchester homecoming last July.
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A rematch between Aspinall and Gane is most likely to come next in the heavyweight divisionCredit: AFP
He has remained on the sidelines since, waiting for a crack at former UFC heavyweight king Jon Jones, who announced his retirement in June, meaning Aspinall was elevated to undisputed status.
After months of anticipation for his fight with Gane at UFC 321, the result has left several members of the MMA world deeply disappointed.
The UFC will now likely aim to set up a rematch between Aspinall and Gane as soon as possible.