Overview
- Referee Marc Goddard ruled Ciryl Gane’s double eye poke accidental at UFC 321, ending Tom Aspinall’s first title defense as a no contest and sending the champion for hospital evaluation.
- Aspinall’s father says the champion still has severely impaired vision days later, reporting no sight in the right eye and about 50 percent in the left pending further tests in the UK.
- UFC CEO Dana White said a rematch will be booked as soon as Aspinall is cleared, leaving the heavyweight division unresolved until medical and commission processes play out.
- Debate over Aspinall’s decision not to continue has split fighters and analysts, with T.J. Dillashaw and Renato Moicano questioning him and Matt Brown, Dan Hardy and Alex Pereira pushing back on claims he was ‘faking’ or seeking a way out.
- Pressure for reform has intensified, with Joe Rogan urging fingertip-covered gloves, Brown advocating instant disqualifications, and Josh Thomson saying officials are discussing rapid rule changes, which remains unconfirmed.