Eye Poke to Tom Aspinall at UFC 321 Led to Blurry Outcome, Reveals Father

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall's father talks about his son's recent eye condition, a few days after the UFC 321 debacle.

Eye Poke to Tom Aspinall at UFC 321 Led to Blurry Outcome, Reveals Father

Tom Aspinall still hasn't gotten his vision back (via X)

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It’s been a few days since UFC 321, where the heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall suffered a brutal eye poke. The British fighter decided to stop fighting in the first round after Ciryl Gane accidentally poked both of his eyes. The bout was ruled a no-contest, and Aspinall was rushed to the hospital, but since then, his condition hasn’t gotten better.

Following the eye poke, Aspinall repeatedly mentioned that he couldn’t see properly from his eyes and was in severe pain. Initially, doctors assured there was no serious or permanent danger to Tom Aspinall’s eyesight, calming the situation temporarily. In a recent YouTube video, Aspinall’s father, Andy, revealed that his son’s vision still hasn’t improved, and progress remains stagnant.

It’s not good, but his eye is a little bit more closed than it was. His right eye he still can’t see anything. It’s just gray. They’ve tested him on words and he just couldn’t see anything. His left eye, 50 percent, he went down about four letters and then just couldn’t see the letters. So one’s really, really blurry and one’s still not working.

Andy Aspinall via YouTube 

Andy Aspinall was extremely vocal throughout the fight week, confidently claiming that Aspinall would face no real struggle against Gane whatsoever. He also went viral after publicly sharing his plans about Aspinall possibly transitioning to boxing for potentially better financial opportunities.

All that confident talk has now completely backfired, as countless fans across social media have begun accusing Aspinall of deliberately quitting. Aspinall’s father has also urged UFC to keep tabs on fighters who frequently eye poke and low blow their opponents. Gane, on the other hand, was disappointed by the sudden stoppage, especially after his impressive early sharp dominance.

The Frenchman successfully matched Aspinall’s intensity, landing precise strikes that bloodied the champion and demonstrated his exceptional technical prowess. Following the incident, Gane expressed his regret to the fans, sincerely apologizing while clarifying that the eye poke was completely unintentional.

UFC veteran provides timeline for Ciryl Gane vs. Tom Aspinall rematch 

Eye pokes have become an unfortunate yet frequent occurrence in the UFC, often altering the outcomes of major fights significantly. As anticipated after the incident between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, an intense debate quickly ignited among fans and analysts online. Several experts, including Chael Sonnen, went viral criticizing Aspinall, suggesting that he chose to quit rather than endure the pain.

Tom Aspinall gets eye poked against Ciryl Gane
Tom Aspinall gets eye poked against Ciryl Gane (via X)

Meanwhile, fellow fighters like Jiri Prochazka publicly stated they would have continued fighting despite suffering a similar or worse injury. Adding to the controversy, an old Jon Jones interview surfaced, where he questioned Aspinall’s resilience under extreme Octagon pressure. UFC CEO Dana White had a similar view as he sneakily questioned Aspinall’s honesty and then agreed on an immediate rematch. 

However, among all this, Aspinall also got support, especially from his countryman Michael Bisping, who has fought in UFC with one eye. Bisping credited Tom Aspinall for focusing on his health more than the fight and also talked about the potential title rematch. 

The rematch is gonna be even bigger. They’re gonna run it back really quickly. They could put it on MSG at the end of the year. They’ve got Pantoja vs. Joshua Van… they’ve got Merab vs. Petr Yan — stick a third title fight on that, the final one on ESPN, end of an era, go out with a bang, three title fights. They don’t have to make weight. They’ve gotta run it back nice and soon I think.

Michael Jackson via Believe You Me” podcast

Irrespective of Bisping’s interest in pushing this fight to happen soon, there might be some delays in the making. The upcoming events are packed, and Aspinall still hasn’t recovered from the eye poke. However, it would be interesting to see when the fighter gets the green light from doctors to fight.

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