Tom Aspinall’s first title defense began strongly Saturday in the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi. But the energy fizzled out when his title challenger, Ciryl Gane, accidentally poked his right eye during an exchange at 4:35 of the opening round. When the defender could not recover after a 5-minute break, referee Jason Herzog called for a no-contest. The crowd, understandably, wasn’t pleased. But Dana White was neither assigning any blame nor willing to push the injured fighter into the octagon.

“I can’t make people fight. And 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,” White explained, emphasizing the confusion around Aspinall’s condition and the legitimacy of the no-contest ruling.

According to the rule, if the injured fighter can recover within the customary five-minute break, the bout resumes. However, if a fighter is deemed unable (or deems him/herself unable) to keep competing before the five minutes run out – or at the end of that period – the bout is waved off. It is declared a no-contest. Mostly, an eye poke is determined to be unintentional. But if it is intentional, the fighter is either docked a point or disqualified.

With the bout, Aspinall entered the squared circle after a 15-week hiatus, mainly due to Jon Jones’ unavailability for a fight and the heavyweight category not having enough worthy contenders. The Briton (15-3-0) has held the interim title since November 2023. Now, although the crowd wasn’t pleased with the way the fight ended, the fighters cleared their stances.

“I just got poked knuckled-deep in the eyeball. What the f—, why are you booing? What am I supposed to do about it? I can’t see,” said a disappointed Aspinall in the ring to the chorus of boos throughout the arena. “This is bulls—, the fight was just getting going. Complete bulls—. I’m pissed off. I can hardly open my eye.”

The defending champion was promptly taken to the hospital after the fight ended.

“I’m very sorry for that — for the crowd, for the fans, for everybody,” Gane said. “I’m sorry for myself. We put a lot of energy into this fight. I’m very disappointed, but this is the sport.”

While the controversy grabbed the headlines, White made sure to highlight Gane’s performance.

The French heavyweight (13-2-0), who had previously suffered devastating losses to Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou, showcased his resilience by landing significant strikes and even bloodying Aspinall’s nose before the foul.

“After the Jones fight, a lot of people wrote Ciryl Gane off. He looked damn good tonight,” White said.

Before this, the only other title fight to result in a no-contest in UFC history occurred in 2017 between then-light heavyweight champion Jones and Daniel Cormier. Jones initially defeated Cormier via TKO at UFC 214 in Anaheim, but the California State Athletic Commission changed the result to a no-contest after it was revealed Jones had failed a pre-fight drug test.

Interestingly, Dana White didn’t stick to tradition this time. The UFC head honcho usually avoids booking fights at the post-fight press conference, but the drama of the main event, Aspinall’s eye poke, and Gane’s excellent performance, forced his hand.

“The fight was heating up, and it was going to be a barn burner… I feel the [same] way everybody feels,” White said while confirming a rematch between the two. “Great showing, s—ty ending. Total pain in the ass [to rebook the matchup], but yes.“

Dana White also highlighted how the rematch, for which he didn’t reveal a date, will change the division’s dynamics.

Alexander Volkov, who won earlier on the card, may have been next in line, but the main event’s controversy has taken precedence. White’s confirmation keeps the heavyweight division’s narrative alive, with fans expecting a fight that promises redemption, vindication, and answers to the concerns left unanswered in UFC 321. With tensions still high and unfinished business, will Dana White be booking it anytime soon?