Tom Aspinall is still recovering from the eye poke. That abruptly ended his first defense as undisputed UFC heavyweight champion against Ciryl Gane in October, and the incident has reignited a long-running debate in MMA: what can actually be done about eye pokes?
The foul, which occurred in the UFC 321 main event, turned a marquee title fight into a no-contest and left fans. Fighters, and officials frustrated. While some have renewed calls for equipment redesigns or rule overhauls, UFC CEO Dana White says the real solution might be much simpler and harsher.
The Eye Poke That Ended a Heavyweight Title Fight
In the Gane fight, the referee did correctly call the eye poke and paused the action, but there was no immediate penalty issued to Gane. Aspinall, clearly compromised, was eventually unable to continue, leading to the no-contest ruling.
As is often the case. The controversy didn’t just center on the foul itself, but on the lack of consequences in the moment.
Eye pokes are categorized as accidental fouls more often than not, but when one derails a main event especially a heavyweight title fight the backlash is amplified dramatically.
Dana White: “Harder Penalties” Over Technical Fixes
Speaking on the Triggernometry podcast, White said he’s less interested in technical fixes and more in deterrence.
“Getting poked in the eye by anybody isn’t good,” White said. “We’ve messed around with gloves, we’ve tried to do all these things. I think the big talk is if there’s harder penalties for doing it. Guys would be a lot more conscious of it.”
White pointed out that many eye pokes result from fighters extending their fingers while trying to measure or block strikes, a habit that’s hard to completely eliminate in a dynamic fight.
“You always have these guys where you’re throwing punches and I’m blocking your punches with my hands out and fingers extended and then you get a guy that reaches out to catch something and the other guy is coming forward, it’s going to happen.”
Despite the outsized attention on high-profile incidents. White argued that eye pokes are still relatively rare in proportion to the volume of fights.
“It doesn’t happen as much as it seems. I can’t remember the number … it’s like a hundred or something eye pokes over thousands of fights.”