UFC Veterans Slam Tom Aspinall for Allegedly Taking the Easy Way Out After Controversial UFC 321 Title Bout

As if returning after a 14-month layoff and missing the chance to defend his undisputed heavyweight crown wasn’t difficult enough, Tom Aspinall now finds himself facing a wave of criticism following the abrupt end to his UFC 321 main event. The bout against Ciryl Gane was stopped just 4 minutes and 35 seconds into the opening round after Gane did his best Jon Jones impression by accidentally poking Aspinall in both eyes. 

Referee Jason Herzog immediately called for medical attention as the Englishman screamed in pain, and after evaluations from two ringside doctors, Aspinall was deemed unable to continue, resulting in a no-contest. However, several notable voices in the MMA community, including Chael Sonnen, Anthony Smith, and even Dana White to a degree, have questioned Aspinall’s decision to stop fighting. Some argue that the heavyweight champion could have pushed through, while others believe he made the right call after nearly losing vision in both eyes.

Chael Sonnen and Anthony Smith Criticize Tom Aspinall for Not Continuing After UFC 321 Eye Poke

In what can be cited as nothing else than an absolute howler, Sonnen took the stage during the UFC 321 post-show and said, “Being poked in the eye is illegal, but to fight with one eye is very common.”

To make matters worse, the former middleweight title challenger added, “Opponent is trying to hit your eye, trying to bust up to make your nose bleed so that part of it does have questions for guys like Anthony [Smith] and I.”

Sonnen then added that holding the UFC’s 265lbs strap makes one eligible to continue fighting through any pain and that Aspinall should have done the same. 

He said, “We’re trying to be polite, we’re trying to show grace, but in all fairness, you’re the heavyweight champion of the world, you’ve got to fight with one eye at times.”

ALSO READ: Jon Jones Takes a Brutal Dig at Tom Aspinall Following Chaotic UFC 321 Main Event

Chael on Aspinall vs Gane: “You fight with one eye if you’re champ.” 😳

“Being poked in the eyes is illegal, but fighting with one eye is very common.”
“In all fairness, if you’re the heavyweight champion of the world, you’ve got to fight with one eye.”
He believes Tom stopped… pic.twitter.com/FHnEnPW8f9

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 26, 2025

Anthony Smith, who was working as an analyst, sided with Sonnen in criticizing the Englishman’s decision to stop fighting. He said, “I’m not saying it’s Tom’s fault, and I’m not going to pretend that I know how bad it is or isn’t. I think Chael made a poetic point that you have to be used to or willing to fight with one eye.”

He then cited his own experience of fighting despite being poked in the eye back in 2023 against Ryan Spann. He added, “I did it in Singapore. Everyone talks about it all the time, where the lady’s waving stuff in front of my eyes. I can’t see it. So what do I do? I just walk away and say let’s fight.”

‘Lionheart’ stated that his bout with Spann wasn’t a world title bout, so he couldn’t completely imagine himself in Aspinall’s position. However, he remained adamant regardless. 

Tom Aspinall eye poke UFC 321 (via BBC)

He said, “You either want to or you don’t. My fight wasn’t for a world title. I didn’t have Ciryl Gane in front of me throwing bombs, but the second that there was an issue, I knew that I wanted to continue, so I know what to say. You never say ‘I can’t see’ if you want to continue to fight.”

Speaking of world title bouts, Smith found himself in a somewhat similar situation during his light heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 235 in 2019. In the fourth round, Jones landed an illegal knee while Smith was grounded. 

Despite being given the option to claim the belt via disqualification, Smith chose to continue, earning widespread respect for his sportsmanship, even though he ultimately lost the fight. In contrast, Aspinall’s choice at UFC 321 was a smart and understandable one, regardless of public opinion. 

What’s truly surprising, however, is how much criticism the Englishman has faced for prioritizing his health, far more than the outrage directed toward Ciryl Gane for the accidental eye pokes. Even Dana White joined in with remarks that seemed to question Aspinall’s decision rather than addressing the foul that caused it.

While White didn’t outright accuse Aspinall of exaggerating the severity of the eye poke, he certainly cast doubt on the situation. At the UFC 321 post-fight presser, he said, “I can’t make people fight. If I want to put together a fight, I can’t make people fight, and you definitely can’t make somebody continue if they feel they’ve been injured.”

Dana White thinks people were sleeping on Ciryl Gane coming into the Tom Aspinall fight:

“He had Tom bloodied up. Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight. The rematch is very interesting.” #UFC321 pic.twitter.com/8WnAsvlKB7

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 25, 2025

He further added, “Only Tom knows what happened. Could he see? Couldn’t he see? Could he continue? Only Tom knows that.” Before making those comments, White had praised Gane for bloodying Aspinall’s nose with an early punch and bluntly stated that Tom didn’t want to continue after the eye poke. 

Although he later confirmed that the promotion intends to rebook the matchup as soon as possible, his reaction to the Englishman’s unfortunate situation hardly came across as sympathetic.