poke

Tom Aspinall’s first defence of his undisputed heavyweight title ended in bitter disappointment after an accidental eye poke from Ciryl Gane left the Briton unable to continue at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.

At the end of a competitive first round, France’s Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes while attempting a punch, with the referee stopping the contest.

Aspinall, 32, could be seen telling the doctor “I can’t see” as he held a cloth to his eye, and with the Briton unable to fight on the referee deemed the bout a no-contest.

The result meant Aspinall retained his title – but not in the way he wanted to and he showed his frustration in his post-fight interview as the crowd booed the outcome.

“Guys, I just got poked knuckle deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing? I can’t see,” said a crestfallen Aspinall.

“The fight was just getting going. I can hardly open my eye. Look! It was a double eye poke.”

Aspinall was taken to hospital after the fight and did not appear for the post-fight news conference.

Calling the fight a no-contest means the referee deemed the foul accidental rather than intentional, which would have resulted in a disqualification.

A disqualification would have gone down as a win for Aspinall.

Gane was equally annoyed at the outcome and could be seen pacing around the edge of the octagon, shaking his head, as the result was announced.

“I feel sorry. I’m sorry for the crowd, for the fans, I’m sorry for Tom Aspinall and sorry for myself,” said Gane.

“We put a lot of energy in this fight so I’m disappointed, but this is the sport, this is life.

“I don’t know what is going to happen for the future, but we will see.”

Tom Aspinall retains heavyweight title after Ciryl Ganes accidently pokes him in both eyes at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.

Champion Tom Aspinall and top-ranked Ciryl Gane could not make it through the opening round of their heavyweight main event at UFC 321 inside Etihad Arena before the match was ruled a no-contest.

Aspinall (15-3-0) and Gane (13-2-0) both came out with a lot of energy until an accidental double eye poke prompted an official timeout at the 4:35 mark of the first round.

Aspinall (15-3-0) could not see out of his right eye during the allotted five-minute break, and at 4:09 into the stoppage, the match was ruled a no-contest.

It was Aspinall’s first defence as the undisputed heavyweight champion.

“What am I supposed to do about it? I can’t see,” said a disappointed Aspinall, speaking in the ring in response to the chorus of boos throughout the arena. “This is [expletive]. The fight was just getting going.”

Gane dropped to his knees, also disappointed, as the ring announcer made the official announcement.

“I’m feeling sorry,” Gane said. “I’m very sorry about that.”

Aspinall was off to a fast start, as the champion wasted no time in throwing heavy shots at Gane.

Known for his elusive footwork, Gane showed no intimidation and stood toe-to-toe while taking command in the centre of the cage.

Gane used a sharp jab to bloody the champ. And when Aspinall took his shot for a takedown, Gane successfully defended it midway through the round. When Aspinall tried to cut off the cage, Gane did a good job of circling out of it while landing jabs and low kicks.

Inside the final minute of the round, Gane continued to out-strike Aspinall until his poke to the eye.

Dern downs Jandiroba

In an intense co-main event in which both women left the cage with battered right eyes, fifth-ranked contender Mackenzie Dern (16-5-0) won the vacant strawweight belt over top-ranked Virna Jandiroba (22-4-0) with a unanimous decision.

Though both fighters had impressive moments within some tightly contested rounds, Dern’s left hand was much more effective and damaging.

Upon hearing the ring announcer announce her name as the new champ and having the belt wrapped around her waist, the 32-year-old Brazilian fell to her knees in tears.

“It feels amazing,” Dern said. “I need to see Moa. This is for Moa.”

Dern was then joined in the cage by her six-year-old daughter, Moa, who draped the UFC belt over her shoulder.

In earlier bouts, No 2 Umar Nurmagomedov (19-1-0) earned a unanimous decision over No 8 Mario Bautista (16-3-0) in a battle of top-ranked bantamweights.

Second-ranked heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov (39-11-0) won by split decision over No 5 Jailton Almeida (22-4-0)

In the light heavyweight division, 10th-ranked Azamat Murzakanov (16-0-0) made quick work of No 7 Aleksandar Rakic (14-6-0).

Murzakanov’s first-round stoppage extended the second-longest active UFC win streak in the division to six consecutive wins.