Britain's heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall was rushed to hospital on Saturday evening following a devastating double eye poke that brought his title defence to an abrupt halt.
The Wigan fighter's bout against French challenger Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi ended in a no contest after an accidental foul left him unable to see.
Medical staff immediately attended to the 32-year-old champion before transporting him for emergency treatment.
The incident occurred during the opening round of what had promised to be an explosive encounter at the Etihad Arena, marking Aspinall's first defence of the undisputed heavyweight crown he inherited following Jon Jones's retirement.
Tom Aspinall suffered a shocking eye injury that forced him to go to hospital
|REUTERS
The competitive encounter had been building momentum when disaster struck with approximately thirty seconds left in the opening round.
Gane's fingers inadvertently penetrated both of Aspinall's eyes during what appeared to be an open-handed strike attempt.
The British fighter immediately signalled his distress, telling the cageside physician that his opponent's finger had gone "knuckle deep" into his eyeball.
Despite initial medical assessments, Aspinall's admission that he couldn't see from his right eye led referee Jason Herzog to wave off the contest.
The stoppage came after Aspinall had already sustained a bloodied nose during the closely-fought opening exchanges, with Gane having established early success through jabs and leg kicks.
The champion's fury erupted during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, as he addressed the hostile crowd reaction.
"Guys, I just got poked f***ing knuckle deep in the eyeball," Aspinall declared. "What the f***? Why are you booing? What am I supposed to do about it? I didn't do the f***ing poke. I can't see!"
The Atherton native's frustration continued as he described the severity of his injuries. "This is bulls***! The fight was just getting going. Complete bulls***. I'm p***ed off. I can hardly open my eye. Look, it was a f***ing double poke in both eyeballs."
Following these explosive comments, Aspinall was swiftly escorted backstage for immediate hospital transport.
Imagine your own promoter saying you, Tom Aspinall, the UFC heavyweight champion of the world, “didn’t want to continue in the fight” instead of admitting you literally couldn’t continue because your eyes were mangled by a double eye poke.
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) October 25, 2025
Insane “promotional” approach.
If… pic.twitter.com/059JSlDyqO
UFC president Dana White subsequently confirmed Aspinall's hospitalisation during the post-fight press conference, describing the entire situation as "a total pain in the a**".
The American executive indicated that a rematch would be arranged for next year, acknowledging that the contest had been developing into a potential "barn burner" before its premature conclusion.
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Tom Aspinall was rushed to hospital after his post-match interview
|REUTERS
Gane expressed immediate remorse for the accidental infringement, stating: "I'm very sorry about that. I'm sorry for Aspinall, sorry for myself."
The result maintains Aspinall's grip on the heavyweight championship whilst leaving questions about the division's immediate future unresolved, particularly given the Frenchman's third unsuccessful attempt at capturing undisputed gold.