It wasn’t how Tom Aspinall envisioned his first title defense playing out. Once Jon Jones retired, the British fighter became the undisputed heavyweight champion after being promoted from his interim championship. However, when it was time for Aspinall’s first title defense against Ciryl Gane, it ended in controversy when the referee called it a no-contest due to him receiving an eye poke that prevented him from continuing the fight.

During round 1, both fighters came out to show their dominance and exchanged some good strikes. Gane gained a slight upper hand, outstriking Aspinall and causing his nose to open up and bleed. Unfortunately, just 30 seconds before the end of round 1, Gane landed an accidental eye poke, which was nasty as both fighters’ eyes were deeply affected.

As usual, To

See Full Page