Paddy Pimblett Calls Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane One of UFC’s Worst PPVs After Brutal Double Eye Poke

UFC 321 ended in disaster at the Etihad Arena. Tom Aspinall‘s defense for his heavyweight throne against Ciryl Gane lasted barely one round before chaos unfolded in Abu Dhabi. After veterans slammed Aspinall for allegedly taking the easy way out, mate Paddy Pimblett came forward in his defense.

Gane’s fingers accidentally caught both of Aspinall’s eyes in the first round after taking an extreme punch that left him bloodied. He couldn’t continue the bout, so the referee had no option but to call it a no contest.

When the crowd at the Arena booed him, Aspinall got angry because the chaotic finish was in no way his fault. A day after the bout, Pimblett bluntly called it one of the worst events in UFC history.

Paddy Pimblett Blasts Gane for Eye Pokes in UFC 321 Fight vs Aspinall

The Liverpool fighter shared his live reaction on Instagram recently and didn’t hold back his frustration. Pimblett watched his mate Tom take brutal damage in the nose before the whole chaos went sideways.

“Aspinall’s nose is bleeding there, sort of pop nose,” Pimblett said during his live discussion. “Only a bit of blood though lad, we’ve all had that.”

Then came the nasty foul moment when both of Gane’s fingers went straight into both of Aspinall’s eyes.

“Oh but that was an eye poke innit? That was both eyes as well. That wasn’t just his finger in one eye. Fingers went in both eyes, it’s not even like he just poked him in one lad. Just pushed both his fingers into his eyes.”

 

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Aspinall repeatedly told the cageside doctor that he couldn’t see. After four minutes of the timeout, referee Herzog had no choice. The fight got an abrupt ending, and the main event was scrapped.

Pimblett saw the writing on the wall before the official call. He continued, “I can’t see, as he just said. Lad, if this does end like this, this’ll be one of the worst pay-per-views in UFC’s history. One of the biggest disappointments ever when it comes to a card.”

“Yeah, that’s nasty, the way both those fingers are going there. He hasn’t fought in 15 months, and then this fight can’t end like this. It’s done,” the Baddy added.

Aspinall was making his first proper heavyweight title defense after Jon Jones retired earlier this year following UFC Baku. Jones reacted to the no-contest result on his Instagram, adding an eyepatch to his trademark belt-wearing duck that only adds salt to the wounds.

All the hype was gone in seconds because of an accidental foul.

What’s Next for Aspinall After UFC 321 Eye Poke Controversy?

Pimblett didn’t just slag off the ending. While “The Bones” made fun of the match, Paddy defended his mate in the best way possible.

“Heavy that. I don’t know really what Tom’s meant to do there. We can’t see, he can’t be fighting. I know Bisping fought with one eye, but that was because he had to. Tom doesn’t have to fight with one eye,” he said.

It was an absolutely fair shout from the 30-year-old fighter. Some critics questioned why Aspinall couldn’t continue, but fellow fighter Sean O’Malley backed him up, noting you can’t fight a dangerous kickboxer like Gane after an illegal double eye poke. Fighting blind against someone technical is an absolute suicide.

Pimblett wants the scrap rebooked immediately. He claimed, “So hopefully they just get that fight booked again because that was shaping up to be Tom’s toughest test he’s ever had in the UFC. As long as Tom’s eye’s okay, get that fight back on early next year. If they’re ready to go by the end of this year, get it on the December pay-per-view.”

UFC boss Dana White confirmed an immediate rematch is happening, breaking his usual rule of never booking fights at post-event pressers. No date has been set yet, but fans are eager to see it happen soon. It’ll be interesting to see how this rematch affects Aspinall’s three-fight UFC deal.

Aspinall wants a chance to make things right. Gane needs to show it wasn’t on purpose. Pimblett will be watching, hoping for an overwhelming finish this time rather than something underwhelming.