Paddy Pimblett has weighed in on Tom Aspinall’s UFC 321 fight with Ciryl Gane, after the latter landed a double eye poke that ended the heavyweight title bout in the first round.
Aspinall was defending the undisputed heavyweight belt for the first time on Saturday, when Gane’s accidental foul brought an abrupt end to the Abu Dhabi main event.
Britain’s Aspinall was unable to continue fighting, meaning the bout was declared a No Contest, with Aspinall soon taken to hospital. The Independent was told Aspinall sustained no bone damage but was struggling to see out of both eyes on Sunday, and that he was due for more tests upon arriving back in the UK.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said a rematch would be booked as soon as possible, which Liverpool’s Pimblett has also called for.
“If this ends like this, it will be one of the worst pay-per-views in the UFC’s history, one of the biggest disappointments ever when it comes to a card,” said the lightweight contender on his YouTube channel, during a live reaction to Aspinall vs Gane.
“That’s nasty, the way both of those fingers go in there. The way Tom is reacting, it seems like he can’t see, so they’re going to pull the fight.
“It’s done. Heavy that. Anticlimactic as it gets, though. Jon Anik [UFC commentator], you are not wrong.
“I think they’ve got to run that back, you can’t not do that fight again. It was shaping up to be a good fight, one of the best tests Tom’s had in the UFC.
“Gutted for Tom, feel bad for Ciryl Gane, too, even though it was his fault. It was unintentional, he didn’t mean to do it, but still: it’s his fault that the fight isn’t continuing.
“They need to do something with the gloves, so you can’t do that with your fingers. This is mad. Has a title fight ever ended like this before? 4:35 as well, there were only 25 seconds left in the round.”
The UFC did trial new gloves in 2024 in a bid to reduce eye pokes, but the promotion soon reverted to its old type.
The end of UFC 321 will have frustrated Gane, 35, as well as Aspinall, 32. The latter had not fought in 15 months, while France’s Gane was trying to win the undisputed heavyweight title for the third time, after two previous failed attempts. However, Gane did hold the interim belt from 2021 until 2022.
