Tom Aspinall speaks on controversial UFC 321 ending

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has breached his soundlessness implicit the arguable ending to his combat astatine UFC 321, accusing challenger Cyril Gane of deliberately cheating. Aspinall’s plans to asseverate his dominance successful the part were chopped abbreviated past October successful Abu Dhabi aft a digit poked him successful the eye, causing the bout to beryllium stopped and declared a nary contest, meaning nary winner, aft little than 5 minutes.

After taking clip to analyse the incident, the British combatant concluded that his opponent’s moves were not accidental. In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Aspinall answered questions from fans and gave his instrumentality connected the fight.

“When I rewatched the fight, I realized what happened. The feline was trying to gouge my eyes retired the full round. Almost each clip I could person enactment him successful danger, helium had his fingers retired successful my eyes. The feline was cheating from the archetypal second,” Aspinall said.

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To enactment his claims, Aspinall recalled the statements of Jon Jones, who is considered by galore to beryllium the top combatant of each time. Jones fought Gane successful 2023 and already warned astir the Frenchman's soiled tactics.

"Even Jon Jones, the top of each time, earlier helium fought him, said that Gane was a cheater and utilized soiled tactics," Aspinall pointed out.

The video past showed footage from Jones' property league aft the triumph implicit Gane, wherever helium commented connected the amerciable stroke helium received. "I noticed that successful a batch of fights, Ciryl Gane hits radical successful the backmost of the head. I didn't privation immoderate soiled play connected specified a large night," Jones said.

To soundlessness critics who accused him of seeking to flight the fight, Aspinall released a elaborate aesculapian study confirming the superior consequences of Gane's oculus stab. The study confirms important bilateral oculus trauma and functional ocular impairment.

Although Jones' earlier statements lucifer Aspinall's, helium did not miss the accidental to taunt the British champion. After UFC 321, Jones started provocations connected societal media; archetypal helium changed his illustration representation to a duck, alluding to avoidance, and past added an eyepatch to Aspinall's photo. The item was erstwhile helium appeared astatine the weigh-in for the 2nd lawsuit connected a equine with an oculus patch, intelligibly reveling successful his rival's misfortune.