Tom Aspinall retained his heavyweight title after being accidentally poked in the eye by Cyrill Gaines at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.
Published October 26, 2025
Champion Tom Aspinall and top-ranked Cyril Gane were unable to advance in the opening round of the heavyweight main event of UFC 321 inside the Etihad Arena, with the bout being ruled a no-contest.
Aspinall (15-3) and Gane (13-2-0) both came into the bout with great energy until an accidental double eye-gob forced an official timeout at 4:35 of the first round.
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Aspinall (15-3-0) lost vision in his right eye during the allotted five-minute break, and the bout was ruled a no-contest 4:09 into the break.
This was Aspinall’s first defense as the undisputed heavyweight champion.
“What can I do? I can’t see,” a disappointed Aspinall said in the ring to a chorus of boos from around the arena. “This is (expletive). The battle has just begun.”
When the ring announcer made the official announcement, Gane fell to his knees in disappointment.
“I’m disappointed,” Gehn said. “I’m very sorry about that.”
Aspinall got off to a quick start, and the champion wasted no time landing powerful shots on Gane.
Known for his elusive footwork, Gane showed no signs of intimidation as he commanded the center of the cage, standing straight up on his toes.
Gane used a sharp jab to bleed the champion. Aspinall then went for a takedown, which Gane successfully defended midway through the round. When Aspinall tried to cut through the cage, Gane did a good job of getting around the cage while landing jabs and low kicks.
Near the end of the round, Gane continued to beat Aspinall until he poked him in the eye.
Darn Downs Jandiroba
In an intense co-main event in which both fighters emerged from the cage with bruised right eyes, fifth-ranked contestant Mackenzie Dern (16-5-0) won the vacant strawweight belt from top-ranked Vilna Jandilova (22-4-0) by unanimous decision.
Both fighters had impressive moments in close rounds, but Dern’s left hand was far more effective and damaging.
As the ring announcer announced her name as the new champion, the 32-year-old Brazilian, belt wrapped around her waist, fell to her knees and wept.
“It feels great,” Dern said. “I have to meet Moa. This is for Moa.”
Dern then entered the cage with his 6-year-old daughter Moa, who had a UFC belt slung over her shoulder.
In a previous bout between the top bantamweights, world No. 2 Umar Nurmagomedov (19-1-0) defeated world No. 8 Mario Bautista (16-3-0) by unanimous decision.
Alexander Volkov (39-11-0), ranked No. 2 in the heavyweight rankings, defeated No. 5-ranked Geirton Almeida (22-4-0) by split decision.
In the light heavyweight division, No. 10 ranked Azamat Murzakanov (16-0-0) had quick success over No. 7 Aleksandar Rakic (14-6-0).
Murzakhanov’s first-round stoppage extended his active UFC win streak to six straight wins, the second-longest in the division.
