It can’t end like this.
UFC 321’s heavyweight title bout between reigning champ Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane ended in disaster, ruled a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke in the first round.
Gane was executing his game plan to perfection, bloodying Aspinall and threatening to push the champ beyond the first round for only the second time in his UFC career — until an unintentional but brutal eye-poke left Aspinall unable to continue.
The fight was ruled a no-contest, and Aspinall retained his belt.
Speaking with reporters after the debacle, UFC president Dana White did something he rarely does: call for an immediate rematch. He called it a “total pain in the a–” to do so, but emphasized the promotion plans to rebook — especially considering Gane’s impressive showing against the dominant knockout artist.
White did not list a targeted date for the rematch.
For the seemingly inevitable rematch, Aspinall opens as a -166 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Gane is listed as a +140 underdog.
The matchup is much closer than Saturday’s clash, when Aspinall entered as a staggering -345 favorite.
