The fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane ended in a no contest at UFC 321. Photo: UFC News / Twitter
Almost a year after the controversial fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane ended in a no contest, the Frenchman spoke publicly about his former opponent. On a collision course with Josh Hokit in a fight for the undisputed heavyweight title (up to 120,2kg), the fighter surprised many by downplaying the effects of the foul committed by poking his rival in the eye, saying the situation showed a mental fragility on the part of the now former champion.
According to the fighter, workplace accidents like fingers going into eyes happen in MMA, and the way the Englishman reacted to the incident gave him the impression that he wasn't psychologically prepared to fight a match of that magnitude.
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“We knew he was a little mentally fragile. Brother, you got poked in the eye. You have the right to stop. That’s your right. But you don’t need to do everything you did. Honestly, when my finger went into his eye, my feeling was that it wasn’t strong at all. It looked strong, but it didn’t feel strong to me. This has happened to me before, actually, against Derrick Lewis when I won the belt. I saw double for 3 or 4 minutes. He poked me in the eye, and my vision hadn’t recovered and I kept fighting like that. I didn’t complain about it. These things happen, you know what I’m talking about,” he said in an interview with 'ZackNaniTV' last Tuesday (22).
Ciryl Gane calls Tom Aspinall “mentally fragile” for the way he reacted after the eye poke 😬
"We knew he was a little mentally fragile. Brother, you got poked in the eye. You have the right to stop. That's your right. But you don't need to do everything you did.
Honestly when… pic.twitter.com/Z0KBatdVmD
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 22, 2026
Tom Aspinall underwent surgery after his fight with Cyril Gane.
Aspinall with an eye injury after a UFC fight. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/UFC
The injury suffered against the Frenchman completely impacted Aspinall's career. Besides being unable to finish the fight, he hasn't returned to the octagon since. After several eye surgeries, as well as other problems like infections, he was forced to vacate the title. The announcement was made last week, and there is no date set for his return.
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