The UFC heavyweight division was thrown into familiar chaos at UFC 321 when champion Tom Aspinall was unable to continue after a double eyepoke from Ciryl Gane ended their title fight at 4:35 of the first round. The fight was declared a no-contest, marking the first time a UFC title fight has been ended this way due to an accidental foul. When UFC President Dana White addressed the media afterward, his response was telling: “It just happens. Yeah. I mean, whatever you do with the glove, I mean, it’s going to happen.”
UFC321
The statement represents the UFC’s position on an issue that has plagued the sport for years. According to research from the UFC Performance Institute, eye pokes occur about once every 14 fights and delay fights an average of 50 seconds. But despite the frequency and severity of these violations, the promotion has indicated it will do nothing to address the root causes.
The The UFC 321 incident was particularly brutal. Gane unintentionally poked both of Aspinall’s eyes at the same time while throwing a punch. The champion was given the usual five-minute recovery period, but after four minutes he was still telling the ringside doctor, “I can’t see.” Aspinall was then transported to hospital. As fans at the Etihad Arena booed the stoppage, a frustrated Aspinall responded: “I just got poked deep in the eye. What do I do about it? I didn’t do the poke, I can’t see it!”
White confirmed that a rematch will happen at some point Aspinall receives medical clearance and calls it “painful, but yes.” The UFC president also praised Gane’s performance before the foul, noting, “After the Jon Jones fight, a lot of people wrote Gane off. He looked damn good tonight.”
UFC gloves
The dismissive nature of White’s comments contrasts with mounting criticism from fighters, analysts and the broader MMA community. When asked what it takes to make an intentional eye stab and what can be done to solve the problem, White responded, “Who knows? Who cares if…? What are you going to do?” He then referenced the UFC’s botched glove redesign, saying, “Whatever you do to the glove, I mean, they’re going to happen.”
The reason for the downshift was fighters’ complaints about comfort and performance, and not the eye-poke stats. White acknowledged “there were a lot of complaints. We originally made these gloves to prevent eye stings. We had good intentions with them. They didn’t work, people weren’t happy with them.” Research showed that the knockout percentage with the new gloves decreased by 8.5 percent compared to the old design. The return to the classic gloves became permanent, with White stating: “the new gloves are now the old gloves.”
Punishment
The enforcement side of the eyepoke problem remains equally problematic. Under the current Unified Rules of MMA, eye pokes are categorized as intentional or unintentional at the referee’s discretion. An accidental eye poke usually results in a warning, with point deductions rarely occurring until a fighter commits multiple fouls. However, eye pokes are almost never considered intentional.
The lax enforcement has created what many see as a strategic advantage for fighters willing to push boundaries. UFC veteran with 45 fights Jim Miller stated, “It’s not the gloves, it’s the culture. The shameless win-at-all-costs mentality among fighters and the ‘eye pokes are an accident and not dirty’ mentality that most people seem to have.” Miller called for an immediate point deduction and wallet deduction for eye pokes, arguing, “I believe that not only a point deduction, but also a wallet deduction would have a quick effect on the number of pokes we see.”
Since the beginning of 2024, only one fighter has had a point deducted for an eye poke in the UFC. In the entire history of the promotion, there have only been 20 fights occurred in which a fighter was deducted a point and the fight went to a decision. The UFC has not had seven fights end due to eye pokes since 2005.
Former UFC referee Big John McCarthy has further developed his position on the issue and now advocates automatic point deductions regardless of intent. “It doesn’t matter what the intent is, it doesn’t matter,” McCarthy said. “Every time a point is taken if the referee sees someone stick out a finger and a thumb or a number goes into the eye socket, it is automatically deducted.” However, McCarthy acknowledged that such a rule change would “never pass” through the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports due to concerns about immediate replay requirements and the impact on key fights.
Eye gouges, eye gouges and eye rakes
Notable fighters have suffered career-altering eye injuries from pokes. Jake Matthews revealed permanent eye damage from an eye gouge from Li Jingliang. Pedro Munhoz suffered a corneal abrasion at the hands of Sean O’Malley at UFC 276, which left him unable to see out of his right eye for 20 minutes.
The UFC 321 incident provoked many reactions on social media. However, the MMA community expressed frustration with both the outcome and the UFC’s continued inaction. Reddit discussions indicated that fighters are not deterred from committing eye pokes, as the worst outcome is usually a warning. Some felt that Gane should not be given a rematch given his history of transgressions. Others questioned whether Aspinall could have continued, although medical professionals noted the seriousness of fingers going “up to the knuckles” in both eyes.
Gane apologized after the fight, saying, “I didn’t do it on purpose. I know what it’s like to have an eye poke because when I fought Derrick Lewis I got an eye poke and I fought a full round with two Derrick Lewises.” He expressed disappointment that the fight ended prematurely after starting well, landing jabs and drawing blood from Aspinall’s nose.
The UFC 321 eyepoke takes place against a backdrop of increasing frustration over transgressions in the sport. In February 2025, Henry Cejudo suffered a technical decision loss to Song Yadong after being unable to continue following multiple eye pokes that went unpunished. In September 2024, Nassourdine Imavov landed two eye-pokes against Caio Borralho, adding to the four previous eye-pokes in his last three fights without any point deductions. In March 2025, Roman Dolidze repeatedly fouled Marvin Vettori with multiple eye pokes despite warnings from referee Herb Dean, but no point was taken.
White’s claim that “no matter what you do with the glove” eye punctures will happen contradicts evidence from other glove designs and stricter enforcement mechanisms. Pride FC or RIZIN gloves had a curvature that held the fingers in a slightly bent position, reducing the ability to extend fingers towards the opponent’s eyes. The Wittman ONX gloves use a similar principle with extra wrist support. The UFC had both options available, but chose not to pursue them.
Coach and former fighter Bradd Pickett explained:
“If you put your hands in it [RIZIN gloves]it curls your fingers downward naturally. It is very difficult to fully extend your hand, which helps prevent poking. The solution is so simple.”
The promotion’s unwillingness to impose harsher penalties also goes against the way violations are handled in other major sports. In the NFL and NBA, penalties are imposed consistently regardless of intent, clearly discouraging rule violations. MMA continues to operate in what observers call a “gray area,” where rules are selectively enforced and fighters can commit multiple violations without consequences.
For now, the UFC’s position appears unchanged. Eye pokes happen, according to White, and the promotion will continue to rebook fights marred by fouls instead of addressing the root causes.
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