Although Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane had built up UFC 321’s excitement for months, nothing came close to Israel Adesanya’s segue into the D-day. After a full day of partying on a cruise, celebrating his friend David’s bachelor party, the guys sat down lined up on their couch to see the Briton’s first title defense on Saturday. But the same energy sputtered out with just over 4 minutes remaining in the first round as referee Jason Herzog called for a no-contest.

Understandably, the entire arena was filled with boos in just a matter of minutes. Back home in New Zealand, Israel Adesanya and his buddies, too, were watching the chaos unfold live. After the incident, the former middleweight champion and his team appeared completely crushed in a reaction video shared on YouTube. For the Nigerian, a few words were enough to describe what he felt: “Oh wow! F—! Let’s see the replay. Oh wow!”

“That doesn’t look like that (bad),” one of his friends said, staring at the screen in disbelief. Another sighed, “Bro, you’ve got to be joking. I’ve been up since 5:00 a.m. yesterday.”

For a bout billed as one of the year’s biggest, the conclusion felt almost viciously anticlimactic. By the eighth minute of his video, Adesanya had summed up the feeling with a single, brief caption said by his other friend: “We just stayed up all night for this!”

With just 4:35 remaining in the first round, Ciryl Gane accidentally poked Aspinall’s right eye during an exchange. The defender quickly stepped away, grasping his face, squinting and wincing as the referee signaled a halt. Moments later, Tom Aspinall’s anger dominated the arena as he complained about being poked knuckle deep and accused fans of booing him unfairly.

After getting checked by the doctor during the customary 5-minute break, when Aspinall could not recover, the referee called for the no-contest ruling to end the fight prematurely.

Aspinall’s frustration was intense and justifiable; both eyeballs had been struck, ending what was shaping up to be an exciting fight before it even found rhythm. Ciryl Gane, visibly sorry, attempted to minimize the damage, but the replay revealed the truth: it was a nasty, unintentional jab that changed everything.

Adesanya’s resigned chuckle when the referee called it off spoke louder than any criticism could. “Oh, wow. Oh well. Good fight,” he said, half in irony, half in disbelief. It wasn’t rage; it was a shared sense of disappointment that comes when a long-awaited moment fades before it begins. But if Dana White’s words are true, we might have a rematch soon.

“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.”

However, he hasn’t revealed the date for the fight yet.

It is worth noting that Israel Adesanya isn’t the only fighter who spoke about UFC 321 failing to deliver. UFC legend Henry Cejudo also went all out to call this mega-event.

Henry Cejudo labels Tom Aspinall-headlined UFC 321 the worst card in history

If Israel Adesanya’s reaction portrayed how fans felt from home, Henry Cejudo’s words mirrored the anger inside the arena. The former double champion, who had flown to Abu Dhabi expecting a statement night, was disappointed by the ending. Cejudo, who had experienced a similar eye poke loss earlier this year, understood Aspinall’s frustration right away. So, when the main fight ended prematurely, he didn’t mince words.

In his video reaction, Cejudo compared the situation to his own experience and criticized the card’s general quality. “You see the comparison to what happened to my eye? It doesn’t take much,” he said. “This is probably the worst card that the UFC has ever put together, straight up. From the co-main to the main event, it just couldn’t get any worse. Horrible decisions, judging… the whole nine. Wake me up when this card ends.”

Coming from someone with his credentials, the statement effectively summarized how far the event fell short of expectations. But Henry Cejudo’s dissatisfaction was not limited to poor entertainment; it also included concerns about fighter safety. “It takes about a year for your eye to come back to normal,” he said. “Even now, my eye turns red from pollution because of scar tissue.”

His words not only defended Aspinall, but they also highlighted an issue that the UFC has yet to address. Despite testing new gloves to prevent pokes, the promotion returned to the original design in response to fighter resistance, leaving everyone to cope with the consequences once again. But according to Dana White, the glove design can be changed as many times as one wants, but it won’t change the fact that this is what the sport is. Were you also disappointed by the big night’s outcome?