Eye Poke UFC Rules: Aspinall vs Gane Breakdown
這 Aspinall vs Gane fight at UFC 321 ended in controversy when Ciryl Gane’s fingers found Tom Aspinall‘s eyes, stopping the heavyweight title bout after just four minutes and 35 seconds. The internet exploded with blame for Gane — but was it really that simple?
After reviewing the fight frame-by-frame, I’m here to present a different perspective: both fighters were equally guilty of fighting with their hands open, fingers forward, throughout the entire first round.
The Case for Ciryl Gane
Yes, Gane blatantly poked Aspinall in the eyes — kung fu style, comically deep. But there were clues throughout the fight that both men were fighting with completely open hands. It could have gone either way.
Looking at the tale of the tape, Gane has the longer reach at 81 inches vs Aspinall’s 78 inches. Combined with his longer fighting style — that hand-out stance he uses constantly — you might expect him to be the one doing the poking. But it’s not that simple.
Why Gane Didn’t Get Poked
Both fighters constantly stuck their fingers in eye range. So why did Aspinall get poked and not Gane?
Gane is always moving away. He jumps in, then fades back. He’s exceptional at rolling with punches. As hands come forward, Gane’s face is already moving away from them.
Aspinall isn’t bad defensively — he’s actually quite good. But he blitzes forward more aggressively. When you’re constantly driving into your opponent’s space, you’re more likely to run into extended fingers.
The Evidence: Frame by Frame
Round 1 — Both Fighters, Fingers Forward
From the opening seconds, both men fought with open hands:
4:57 — Aspinall already has fingers forward
4:49 — Gane fighting with hands open. This is part of the problem — he parries and blocks everything with open hands
4:48 — Aspinall reaching forward, fingers pointed up. But Gane is always moving away when hands come forward
4:42 — Aspinall’s hands up, not close enough to be guilty this frame
4:41 — Fingers pointed forward throughout the round
Would a warning from referee Jason Herzog have prevented what happened? The fingers were pointed forward from the start.
The Pawing Game
4:31 — Aspinall pawing, blocking with his hand forward, fingers always toward Gane
Gane’s defensive style is notable: when blocking, he almost never closes his fist. Always hands open, constantly pushing away with the front hand. In orthodox stance, one hand by his head (fingers up) and one hand forward (fingers up, blocking).
Maybe it’s to cover more space? A closed fist is a smaller mitt for stopping incoming strikes.
The Plum Problem
4:22 — As Gane blocks with his left, Aspinall reaches out with fingers forward
Part of the reason fighters keep hands open: they’re looking for the Thai plum. Grabbing an opponent’s head doesn’t work with closed fists. If you’re hunting for collar ties and clinch control, open hands make sense.
More Evidence
4:16 — Aspinall defending, fingers open
4:09 — Gane reaches forward
4:08 — The very next second, Aspinall reaches forward, hands open
3:59 — Aspinall with hands open. If Gane shoots in here, he’s catching fingers to the eyes
3:59 — Now Aspinall shoots in. As he does, Gane defends — hands forward, fingers forward
3:56 — The reaching hands result in Gane going for the plum as Aspinall looks for the underhook
3:52 — Gane reaching out. Blatant eye poke possibility.
Watch this fight frame by frame — both guys are always fighting with open hands.
Kicks and Clinch Work
3:44 — Aspinall throws a nice body kick, Gane blocks
3:43 — Aspinall reaches forward with open hands onto Gane’s neck
3:29 — As Gane throws a jab to the body, Aspinall has hands completely out, blocking Gane’s head from moving forward. Fingers just inches from the eyes
3:12 — Aspinall throws a nice kick. Fingers forward
3:11 — Gane with his hand on Aspinall’s face, pushing away from the single leg attempt
The Pattern Continues
2:52 — Aspinall, fingers forward. So many frames of this
2:36 — Aspinall measuring distance, fingers forward
2:18 — Aspinall reaching forward with both hands, fingers open
The idea that any fighter is constantly like this in MMA gloves is ridiculous. But here we are.
The Eye Poke — 0:30 Seconds
This is where everything goes haywire.
Both men throw kicks simultaneously. As they connect and get tangled, Gane pushes away with his other hand — raising it as he kicks.
Not to blame Aspinall entirely, but his style throughout the fight lent itself to getting touched in the face. As Gane moves forward with hands up, two fingers go into two eyes — kung fu style, comically deep.
Aspinall is throwing a left hand off his kick. In the middle of that forward momentum, with Gane also moving forward hands up, Gane’s fingers get tangled into Aspinall’s eyes.
The Damage
0:30 — One of Aspinall’s eyes doesn’t fully open
0:29 — Both eyes closed
0:28 — Goes to rub his right eye
0:25 — Herzog stops the match
At the one-minute mark of the timeout, the doctor checks his eye. He says he can’t see obvious damage to the orb, but Aspinall cannot see.
He doesn’t continue — which is fair. Do you want to fight a beast like Gane with one eye compromised?
How Deep Was It?
When you see the stills, it’s brutal:
- Left index finger — About one knuckle deep into Aspinall’s eye
- Middle finger — Touched the right eye with more of a scratching motion (seemed to bother him more)
As the nail comes out, that’s all she wrote.
The Aftermath: Surgery Required
The damage was worse than it looked in the cage.
As ESPN reported, Aspinall announced in late December 2025 that he needs multiple surgeries on both eyes. He’s been in and out of the hospital since the fight.
In a video on Paddy Pimblett’s YouTube channel, Aspinall explained: “With other injuries they fix them straight away. But with eyes, because it’s obviously risky, they try and let them heal naturally. So we’re getting surgery. It will keep me out for a little bit.”
He called the recovery “a nightmare.”
Aspinall also claimed he was poked three times in one round: “Three times he did it in one round. The points deduction should be sacked off. First one is an accident; second one is on purpose.”
Since winning the interim title against Sergei Pavlovich in November 2023, Aspinall has fought only twice. His timeline to return remains uncertain.
The Rule Question
Many people online have called for automatic DQs for eye pokes. I’m not sure about that.
Automatic point deduction? Sounds reasonable — but once there’s an obvious rule like that, it will be gamified.
Think about it: if someone gets poked in the eye — the kind of poke that usually means you rub it out for 10 seconds and continue — they might start flopping. Like the NBA. Like Premier League soccer.
I don’t want to see that in MMA.
But it’s a tough question. We don’t want fighters suffering with compromised vision. Eye pokes can change the entire course of a fight.
Remember how much hate Aljamain Sterling got for not getting up after being kneed illegally? So much hate for Aljo. Fighters are stuck between protecting themselves and being called quitters.
The Bottom Line
In Ciryl Gane’s defense: both gentlemen were guilty of constantly having their hands forward.
There was a chance Gane could have been the one poked. Both men kept hands open, fingers pointed forward. Both used their fingers to gauge distance, slap hands away, grab, and stop forward progress.
It was an accidental poke. But the accidental poke came from a fight where both men created the conditions for it to happen.
Hopefully they can run it back soon. Aspinall was not steamrolling Gane as people predicted. It was a close first round — I’d give the edge to Gane, actually.
Aspinall’s nose was bloody, but noses bleed all the time. That’s not decisive.
What’s decisive is that the heavyweight division is on hold while one of its best recovers from eye surgery. And the question of how to prevent this keeps getting asked, with no good answers.
I really want to see this rematch.
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