Tom Aspinall’s journey since capturing the interim heavyweight belt has been anything but smooth. UFC repeatedly delayed his highly anticipated title unification bout against Jon Jones over nearly two years, and in the end, the fight never materialized. Now, as the heavyweight champion without ever facing ‘Bones’, Aspinall’s first title defense ended in disaster at UFC 321 last night. The Briton had little warning of the brutal double eye poke that awaited him from his French counterpart, Ciryl Gane.

Right in the opening round, the strike left the Briton in visible pain, prompting fans inside the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi to boo. Many argued that, despite retaining his belt, the incident damaged Tom Aspinall’s aura in the MMA world. Some fans labeled him weak-gutted, while others, on the other hand, accused him of exaggerating the eye poke to avoid continuing the fight after Gane busted his nose early, leaving blood streaming. Now, with the fight behind him, Aspinall also faces criticism from fellow fighters.

Demetrious Johnson points out Tom Aspinall’s mistake in UFC 321 main event

“Why are you booing?” Tom Aspinall asked fans inside the arena, wincing in pain and clearly frustrated as he covered his right eye and opened his left. However, broadcast footage revealed it was a double eye poke, with the left eye taking the brunt of the impact. This prompted many online users to question, “Tom was covering his right eye despite the fact that his left eye was more poked,” sparking widespread debate over whether Aspinall was trying to play a trick.

Weighing in on the incident via his YouTube channel, Flyweight GOAT Demetrious Johnson highlighted the error: “It looks like the other eye got more penetration than the one he’s closing right now. I also think that when you keep your eye like this, you’re not giving it a chance to actually recess. The pressure on the eye is not always the best thing to do.” Johnson added, “When you get hurt in the eye, you don’t want to look with your left eye. You want to close both your eyes and keep them shut. Because if I had my left eye injured and I go like, ‘What the fuck?’ — that s–ks a–.”

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier, who witnessed the incident firsthand, reinforced fans’ concerns and Johnson’s analysis by sharing his observations on social media. Cormier revealed that Tom Aspinall’s “right eye [was] covered in a bandage” because he could not open it, which DC described as “crazy.” He noted that while the Briton’s right side had more scraping, the left eye bore the brunt of the knuckle-deep impact. Medical reports are still pending to confirm the full extent of the damage to both eyes. In the meantime, here’s DJ’s take on the eye poke.

Demetrious Johnson weighs in on the dangers of eye pokes

With over 15 years of fighting experience, Demetrious Johnson has seen it all. From making history in the UFC’s flyweight division to dominating ONE Championship, Johnson has faced some of the world’s most elite strikers and grapplers. His career even took him to Thailand-based promotion ONE, where Muay Thai plays a central role.

While Johnson never trained extensively in Muay Thai, he gained some experience in the discipline during his time there. Throughout his career, ‘DJ’ has frequently faced eye pokes in the octagon. He believes these incidents remain an unavoidable part of MMA, with no effective solution in sight. The reason? Technique.

“As human beings,” Johnson explained, “our natural reaction when somebody comes toward us is to open our hands and stick them out. When I throw a body kick — when you learn Muay Thai and throw kicks — they don’t teach you to throw them like this; they teach you to open your hands. You throw your hand, put your hands in front of your opponent’s face to block them, and then you throw the kick — boom. So, if you look at Muay Thai fighters or kickboxers, granted, you can’t see their hands because they’re in gloves.”

Eye pokes continue to spark debate in MMA. Should the sport implement stricter regulations to prevent them, given the ongoing risk and the way they can derail major fights? Share your thoughts below.