Tom Aspinall’s UFC title defence ends in no-contest after eye-poke
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Tom Aspinall's (left) heavyweight title defence fight against Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest after Gane accidentally poked both of Aspinall’s eyes.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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ABU DHABI – Tom Aspinall’s first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title defence did not go according to plan, as an anticlimactic ending saw Ciryl Gane accidentally poke Aspinall’s eye after 4min 35sec of round 1 at UFC 321.
The Oct 25 fight was ruled a no-contest, likely setting up a rematch between the pair. The UFC has yet to decide on the situation.
Aspinall (15-3 MMA) and Gane (13-2 MMA) were both visibly upset, as until the accidental foul, both were trading punches and looking for a fight-finishing sequence.
The Briton was still trying to process what had happened, struggling to see in his post-fight interview in Abu Dhabi.
“This is bullshit,” Aspinall said. “The fight was just getting going.”
Frenchman Gane, who apologised for his actions, said he would entertain a rematch with Aspinall. It is still up to the promotion, though.
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” he said. “I don’t know about the future.”
In the co-headliner, Mackenzie Dern became the new UFC women’s strawweight champion with a unanimous decision win against Virna Jandiroba, 48-47, 48-47, 49-46. Despite landing only two takedowns, Dern (16-5 MMA) out-struck Jandiroba (22-4 MMA) throughout the fight in significant clinch strikes (18-2).
Dern had little to describe becoming champion, holding back tears. “It’s amazing,” she said.
The loss for Jandiroba put an end to her five-fight winning streak.
Bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov rebounded in a big way with a unanimous decision win against Mario Bautista, taking the cards 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Nurmagomedov (19-1 MMA) halted Bautista’s (16-3 MMA) eight-fight winning streak and survived a second round knee to win the fight based on pushing forward and volume striking.
At heavyweight, Alexander Volkov outlasted Jailton Almeida in a battle of top 10 contenders, earning a split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) to remain in title contention.
Volkov (39-11 MMA) admitted following the fight that it “wasn’t so good”, but his round 3 clinch work against the fence was enough to halt Almeida’s (22-4 MMA) momentum as a potential surging challenger.
UFC 321’s main card got underway with 10th-ranked light heavyweight Azamat Murzakanov earning his 12th win by KO/TKO, catching seventh-ranked Aleksandar Rakic with a right hook at 3:11 of the opening round.
Murzakanov (16-0 MMA) improved to 6-0 in the UFC. He is second in the division with the longest active streak and five stoppage victories. Rakic (14-6 MMA) has dropped his previous four fights, having not entered the win column since March 2021. REUTERS
