It was over before it even started. In what was primed to be a clash of heavyweight titans, Tom Aspinall vs Cyril Gane was called off in under four minutes. In the most underwhelming way possible: an eye poke from Gane, rendering Aspinall unfit to continue the fight and ruled a no contest
Months of build-up, over a year of inactivity for both fighters, Undisputed Heavyweight title on the line; all for it to be thrown away over a rule that desperately needs reform from the UFC and the sport of MMA.
Eye pokes: No Contest or Disqualification?
Saturday night’s fight was ruled a ‘No Contest’ from referee Jason Herzog as this is current UFC protocol for a fight stopping eye poke. Unless the referee believes it is explicitly intentional, he will give a first warning and the fighter 5 minuets to recover and allow the fight to continue. If it happens again, the referee can deduct points if he deems it intentional. Still, total disqualification has never happened in UFC history because of an eye poke.
Despite the laughably soft stance on them, eye pokes are a massively damaging shot, taking away a fighter’s number one fighting asset – vision. It’s no secret how easily they can be disguised or simply missed by the referee during the fight. Given the small consequences for committing one, its not hard to imagine certain fighters exploiting the rule to their advantage.
Dana White himself seems unsure where the line lies between intentional and accidental. Speaking at the post-fight press conference, he told a TNT Sport reporter, “who the fuck knows, who gives a shit?’
This isn’t the first time a high stakes fight has ended this way. In 2021 we had Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad ending via eye poke, and back in 2018 Alan Jouban vs Gunnar Nelson saw an eye poke unnoticed by the referee arguably change the outcome of the fight.
Since 2015 25 UFC fights have been stopped or affected by eye pokes, with 0 resulting in disqualification.
Mike Bisping on Tom Aspinall’s Eye poke
UK MMA royalty Mike Bisping didn’t hold back about the situation after the fight. Having lost his vision in one eye in the sport himself via a head kick back in 2013, he had stated on TNT Sports that night:
“Of course it was a disaster,” “It was an absolute fiasco, they’ve got to do something about these eye pokes. The rule is you’ve got to have your hands [up], but you can’t have your fingers out straight [across].
“That’s the stupidest rule that I’ve seen in my life. Make a fist, simple as that. You’re throwing punches and, yes, you’ve got to parry shots. But you just need to un-bend your fingers, it’s not that hard. This is a stupid rule, your fist should be closed, not kind of closed.”
So what is the solution? The sport needs clearer, standardised criteria for when an ‘accidental’ foul becomes negligence, especially in high stakes fights where careers and titles are on the line, as we saw on Saturday night. Higher penalties, including the option for immediate point deduction on the first instance, should become standard.
If the UFC is serious about protecting its athletes and preserving competitive integrity, this is the next rule that needs evolution.
Eyes on the rematch?
It goes without saying that this fight needs to be ran back as soon as the fighters are ready – I’d like to see it before the end of the year. Fortunately, Aspinall hasn’t sustained any major damage to his eye and Gane remains unscathed. In what was otherwise an exciting card, this fight needs to be given a proper conclusion.
Will we see any rule reform from the UFC? To be honest, it seems unlikely.
But maybe Saturday nights fiasco will be the eye-opener the sport needs.
