Doctor Treating Tom Aspinall Gives Verdict on UFC 321 Stoppage
The doctor treating Tom Aspinall gave his verdict on whether stopping his UFC 321 main event was the right call following a first round eye poke.
Aspinall made the first defence of his UFC heavyweight title in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, taking on Ciryl Gane in the headline bout.
But the encounter had the worst ending imaginable, with a no-contest called at the end of round one after Gane caught Aspinall with fingers in both eyes.
The champion was given time to recover as a cageside doctor looked at his right eye but Aspinall repeatedly admitted he could not see, leading to the referee Jason Herzog bringing a disappointing halt to proceedings.
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The crowd at the Etihad Arena booed, leading to a furious X-rated rant from Aspinall, who watched back the slow-motion replay while being interviewed by Daniel Cormier inside the Octagon.
Aspinall was then immediately taken to hospital for further tests and Aspinall provided insight into what happened in his YouTube vlog, which has garnered more than 700,000 views.
In the description, Aspinall said he hoped the 45-minute video "helps answer the questions to why the fight was stopped and gives perspective on what really matters".
Viewers were taken inside Aspinall's appointment with a doctor, who performed a series of tests and gave the Salford-born fighter eye drops.
He explained that if Aspinall was to stay in Abu Dhabi, he would want to see him again for more assessments on Monday - or he must see somebody in two days back home in the United Kingdom.
When asked if he was glad the fight was stopped, the doctor replied: "Yeah of course, you should stop the fight until you are good again and cleared from our side".
However he did also add that "we didn't find anything dangerous" in a positive development.
Aspinall gives eye update
Aspinall continued to have a patch on his eye and revealed the injury was "way scarier" than what happened in his first fight against Curtis Blaydes, when he hurt his knee badly just 15 seconds in.
"It puts things into perspective," Aspinall said, preparing to sign off the video.
"It's a dangerous sport. "It was way scarier than what I did to my knee.
"Because with my knee, I knew it was going to be alright. I still don't know how this is going to be.
"We're just waiting for further results. We've got to do more tests in the UK. Flying back today, and we'll go from there. I'm not sure when I'll be ready to let everyone know what's going on.
"Thank you for all the support. See you soon."
UFC president Dana White caused outrage in the post-fight presser when he said Aspinall had been "bloodied up" and "didn't want to continue but did confirm that a rematch is "what makes sense".
Asked about an instant rematch, he explained: "Total pain in the a** but yeah. It’s unfortunate it ended the way that it did and yes, I think that there probably will be a lot more interest in the rematch after [Gane] had Tom bloodied up and Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight."
“So the rematch is very interesting," added White. "Right here, right now, being honest – I never do this when it comes to talking about what next fight is going to happen – the rematch is what makes sense.”
Topics: Tom Aspinall, UFC
Josh Lawless