Tom Aspinall-Ciryl Gane UFC 321 bout ends in controversy

It was Aspinall’s first defense as 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.”

After the bout an UFC head Dana White was annoyed, according to MMA fighting, but said there will be a rematch, breaking his motto of not guaranteeing rematches right after bouts.

“I feel the way everybody feels. Great showing, shitty ending,” White said at the UFC 321 post-fight press conference. “I think that after the [Jon] Jones fight, a lot of people wrote Ciryl Gane off. He looked damn good tonight. It looked like we were in for a few rounds, and it was going to be a good fight.

“Total pain in the ass but yes [we’ll book the rematch],” White added. “They’re both in shape, other than whatever’s wrong with his eye. Both guys are not injured. As soon as possible.

“I can’t make people fight. If I want to put together a fight, I can’t make people fight. You definitely can’t make somebody continue if they feel they’ve been injured. Only Tom knows what happened. Could he see? Couldn’t he see? Could he continue? Only he knows 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, though, Gane showed no intimidation and stood toe-to-toe while taking command in the center 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 outstrike Aspinall until his poke to the eye.

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 6-year-old daughter, Moa, who draped the UFC belt over her shoulder.

From the undercard:

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.