If you needed evidence of the eerie uncanny of the MMA world, UFC 321’s main event provided that proof. Some fans are questioning a fighter – who was poked in both eyes simultaneously – for wincing more out of his right eye than his left, even though it was the left that had a finger plunged knuckle-deep inside it. “What does this say?” they suggest with their tweets, punctuating their suspicion with ponderous emojis, whose yellow cartoon hands are raised against yellow cartoon chins. Perhaps a better question is “what does this say” about these fans?
In a 10-minute spell on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, palpable tension morphed into simmering concern and then an ultimate, galling deflation, as Ciryl Gane’s double eye poke on Tom Aspinall left the Briton unable to continue fighting in the main event of UFC 321. The British champion, the hulking hope of heavyweight MMA, could not continue his first defence of the undisputed heavyweight title.
With that, he was unable to end a 23-month saga that saw him win the interim belt, defend it in a rare and successful move, and get strung along by an evasive (and eventually retiring) Jon Jones. Nor was he unable to end a 15-month absence from the cage successfully. In the end, there was no closure to that torturous saga; it simply entered a new phase.
With barely 30 seconds left in the first round of a tense, competitive bout – in which Gane admittedly looked a half-step ahead of the Wigan fighter – Aspinall was subjected to an accidental foul that caused a No Contest. The fight was thrown out, and the MMA world was consumed by burning questions and, in many cases, sheer stupidity.
We’ll come to the key question, but the stupidity lies in a section of the fanbase suggesting that Aspinall “quit”, wanting a “way out” after “realising he would lose”. Yes, his French challenger denied a takedown, bloodied Aspinall’s nose, and had a slight lead on strikes (30-27). But, assuming there was no finish in the remaining 25 seconds of the round, the adjustments from both fighters would have been intriguing.
It’s as if some fans, accustomed to seeing Aspinall erase opponents in an average time of two minutes, resorted to hysterics at the first sight in a long time of the 32-year-old failing to find an early knockout shot, takedown or submission. To those fans, Aspinall was exposed by his bloody nose, a few countered strikes, and one failed takedown.
To those fans, Aspinall forfeited the moniker of “Baddest Man On The Planet” by refusing to continue, with UFC president Dana White augmenting agitation by suggesting that the Briton “didn’t want” to continue. Aspinall, of course, now has two fights remaining on his current UFC contract, with one of those presumably the rematch with Gane.
The reality is that Aspinall should not have continued if he could not see properly; the stakes, financial and beyond, were too high. A slow-motion replay showed two of Gane’s fingers entering Aspinall’s eyes, with one of them stabbing so far that its middle knuckle was its first visible component.
Aspinall seemed pained and compromised, and he made the right decision to stop fighting. Anything else would have been unwise and potentially catastrophic.
The key question, then, is when will we see Aspinall vs Gane 2 (which will feel more like Aspinall vs Gane 1, take 2)?
White suggested at the post-fight press conference in the Etihad Arena that the rematch will be booked as soon as possible. The first major event of 2026, as the UFC debuts on Paramount+ in the US, would be the earliest realistic opportunity, yet lightweight champion Ilia Topuria seems the prime candidate to headline that show, while featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski is overdue for a fight.
Before Saturday, Topuria and Volkanovski’s next outings would surely have had priority in terms of scheduling for 2026; Volkanovski should not be forced to wait until March, having last fought in April, and Topuria – from a business standpoint – should kickstart the UFC’s new era.
That could, then, leave Aspinall and Gane waiting until March for their rematch, even though (at the time of writing) both fighters are in shape and healthy – with the extent of the injury to Aspinall’s eyes the clear asterisk. If the damage is largely superficial, the 32-year-old could be ready to return as soon as December, but the last major UFC card of the year already has its headline bout.
A sensible move would be to double-stack the first big card of 2026, and have Aspinall vs Gane 2 paired with Topuria’s return, but that seems unlikely; the UFC is increasingly spreading out its highest-profile names, and it would have to break its rule of higher weight classes headlining above lower ones, with Topuria surely main-eventing such a card.
Another interesting, knock-on effect from UFC 321 relates to sponsors, and how brands tied to Aspinall adapt any post-fight plans, launches and such, following the unforeseen events in Abu Dhabi.
All of this chaos follows a relative calm for Aspinall on fight week, too.
It seemed he had constructed the perfect preparations for a pivotal fight, he and his tight-knit team largely keeping away from Yas Island and downtown Abu Dhabi, electing to stay at the more-remote, five-star Saadiyat Rotana hotel instead of the Yas Hilton, which was bustling with fighters, UFC staff and eager fans.
The Independent saw firsthand Aspinall’s surroundings in the days before the fight: his team’s work with Rotana to intricately organise transport, nutrition, massages and more, and the seemingly-endless expanse of ocean within a short walk of the fighter’s residence.
While Saturday’s main event did not produce the exhibition of elite MMA that fans expected, Aspinall had treated the occasion like an elite athlete would. The Briton is – by his own admission – fearful before fights, and although he tends to weaponise these nerves to devastating effect, his fight-week planning was intended to cut out distractions and keep focus on the simplest matters.
At one point, The Independent mentioned a clip of Aspinall eating frozen yoghurt earlier in fight week and staring vacantly into the distance. “There have been a lot of vacant stares this week,” he admitted. There might be a lot more in the coming days and weeks.
