Content warning: This article contains an image with a disturbing injury to a person’s eyes.
Tom Aspinall’s first statement since UFC 321 included footage of his livid backstage reaction immediately following his eye-poke controversy with Ciryl Gane.
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Aspinall and Gane’s fight for the UFC heavyweight title Saturday in Abu Dhabi ended in an unceremonious no-contest after Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes in the closing minute of the first round. Aspinall was deemed unable to continue and sent to the hospital, and UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that a rematch is likely. The bout was Aspinall’s first since July 2024, and first as an undisputed champion despite holding an interim UFC heavyweight title since late 2023.
On Sunday, Aspinall released footage of the immediate aftermath of his UFC 321 eye-poke experience, showing his furious backstage reaction and his subsequent trip to the hospital.
“All that training for that,” a livid Aspinall can be heard telling Daniel Cormier. “What the f*** is he doing?”
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“The left one was really deep,” replies Cormier.
“They’re f***ing both bad,” says Aspinall. “They’re both bad. He got warned twice before it. Twice before it he got warned for it. F***ing did it again.”
The video then shifts to Aspinall in the hospital alongside his father and coach, Andy Aspinall.
“Mike Bisping, he lost his eye,” Andy Aspinall says. “Just horrendous thing to think as a parent really, and I know what it’s like these days with people saying what they want, but if it’s your son and they could lose an eye and their health, and they’ve got children to look after — something needs doing about it.
“It horrendous for me to look at that.”
