The UFC heavyweight division’s new era took an unexpected turn on Saturday during Tom Aspinall’s first title defense against Ciryl Gane.
The highly anticipated fight ended in a no-contest after an accidental eye poke halted the fight in the first round.
Aspinall, 32, entered UFC 321 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi as the newly crowned undisputed heavyweight champion following Jon Jones’ retirement and title vacancy earlier this year.
The Brit was looking to cement his status after a blistering 60-second knockout of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, but his night came to a sudden halt before the opening round could conclude.
Both men exchanged heavy strikes to start the fight, with Gane starting strong and Aspinall appearing to finally find his footing about one minute into the fight.
Shortly after, with less than a minute gone, everything changed as Gane’s outstretched fingers made contact with both of Aspinall’s eyes, prompting referee Jason Herzog to pause the action immediately.
After several minutes, Aspinall told officials he could not see out of his right eye, prompting Herzog to wave off the bout and rule the result a no-contest due to an unintentional foul at 4:35 of Round 1.
The result leaves the UFC in a difficult position atop the heavyweight division. A rematch between Aspinall and Gane is likely to be discussed, given the nature of the ending.
That said, other names, including Alexander Volkov — who defeated Jailton Almeida earlier on the card — could also factor into the title picture.
Volkov entered UFC 321 as the No. 2 contender in the heavyweight ranks, with Almeida clocking in fifth, and Curtis Blaydes and Sergei Pavlovich in between those two.
