Since regaining the light heavyweight title at UFC 320, Alex Pereira has set his sights on a move up to heavyweight. After the Las Vegas event, the Brazilian star revealed in an interview that he hopes to face Jon Jones at next year’s White House Card in June, which marks his debut in the 265lbs division.
And after the chaotic events of UFC 321, where Tom Aspinall’s long-awaited return was cut short due to an accidental eye poke from Ciryl Gane, Pereira couldn’t resist taking a jab at both fighters and the heavyweight division as a whole. Now, a week after the Abu Dhabi card, ‘Poatan’ has shared his thoughts on whether Aspinall has actually retired or whether his inability to continue was justified.
Alex Pereira shuts down claims that Tom Aspinall has quit at UFC 321
In response to the controversial heavyweight title main event, Pereira had posted a video to social media shortly after UFC 321, showing himself flashing a sly smile as Aspinall told the ringside doctors and referee Jason Herzog that he could not continue.
He captioned the clip with a challenge to Jon Jones, urging him to save the 265lbs division, a call the former heavyweight champion later accepted. However, Pereira had not explained his reaction until now.
In one recent interview with MMA Hojethe reigning 205lbs kingpin shared his thoughts on the situation. He said, “You can’t really know what happened. Only he knows.”
With a balanced view, Pereira added his explanation. “I mean, we know he didn’t do that well in the fight, but we’ve seen situations where a guy isn’t doing great, and then something happens, like a penalty, and the guy comes back better.”
His comment referred to the opening round, where Aspinall was tagged early and was repeatedly targeted by Gane’s jabs, even causing a busted nose.
Still, Pereira defended Aspinall against claims of quitting, saying: “Some people say he was faking it. Man, honestly, you can’t say that. It’s hard to understand. One poke seemed to go deeper into the eye, and he didn’t complain about it, but he got the other one from the outside. But we don’t know the impact there either, you know?”
READ ALSO: Tom Aspinall Joins the Halloween Fun with Hilarious Jab at Ciryl Gane
Alex Pereira Reacts to Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane:
“One poke seemed to go deeper into the eye, and he didn’t even complain about it. But he took the other one from the outside.
We’ve seen worse cases where the boys kept fighting. Visibly worse. But only he knows how he really… pic.twitter.com/X37qjqLlHE
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 31, 2025
Ultimately, Pereira gave Aspinall the benefit of the doubt and concluded: “We’ve seen worse cases where the boys kept fighting. Visibly worse. But only he knows how he really felt there.”
While figures like Chael Sonnen, Dana White and TJ Dillashaw have criticized Aspinall for supposedly giving up, Jones has gone a step further by changing his profile photo to a duck with an eye patch and even showing up at the DBX 4 weigh-ins on a horse wearing one.
Amid all the ridicule, Pereira’s opinion stands out as one of the most balanced. Meanwhile, Aspinall’s condition still appears uncertain. as Andy Aspinall recently revealed. Fans now await updates on when the Englishman could return for a proper defense of his heavyweight crown.
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