Ngannou Defends Aspinall After Controversial UFC Fight
The renowned fighter Francis Ngannou has come to the defense of Tom Aspinall following the controversial decision to withdraw from his UFC heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321. In the October main event, Aspinall faced Gane in his first defense of the undisputed heavyweight title. The fight was stopped when Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in the eyes twice during the first round. The second contact affected both of Aspinall’s eyes, and despite a five-minute break to recover, the British fighter could not continue. Aspinall was taken to the hospital after the fight was declared a no-decision. Dana White, UFC president, has already announced that a rematch will be scheduled as soon as possible. However, Aspinall’s father has revealed that his son is still feeling the effects of the incident and cannot see out of his right eye. Numerous fighters have commented on the incident, including Jon Jones, who harshly criticized Aspinall. Now, Ngannou, another UFC star, has expressed his support for Aspinall.Ngannou continued to explain the seriousness of the situation, highlighting the difference between a blow to the eyes and other physical injuries. “A blow to the eye is not like getting hit in the testicles, where you can recover and come back. It’s not just pain; it compromises your vision. And if you’re in a combat sport with compromised vision, it’s not good at all.” Ngannou argued that Aspinall’s decision to retire was the right one, considering the risks of continuing with impaired vision. “If your vision is compromised and you keep going, maybe something will happen. You lose the fight, and the same people will say how stupid you were, ‘you should have stopped, blah, blah, blah'”. Ngannou concluded that the fans’ frustration, although understandable, should not detract from the fact that there was a blow to the eye that caused damage and affected Aspinall’s vision. Ngannou hasn’t competed in MMA since October 2024, when he defeated Renan Ferreira in his PFL debut. Before that, he suffered a second-round defeat to Anthony Joshua in a boxing match.I think the hit to the eye generated more news than the fight itself, more than the announcement of the fight,” Ngannou said in an interview.
Francis Ngannou
