A broken orbital wall and a crushing defeat, that’s what Oban Elliott took home from UFC 325, and he’s pointing the finger at an alleged illegal eye poke for derailing the biggest fight of his career.

For years, the notorious eye poke has plagued the UFC, often causing serious injuries from faulty gloves or fighter actions. Last year, several incidents disrupted events, including UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who suffered a severe “unintentional” double eye poke from Ciryl Gane in his first title defense. The injuries forced the fight to be ruled a “no contest,” damaging the promotion’s reputation. However, rising welterweight star Oban Elliott wasn’t so lucky at UFC 325.

Paddy Pimblett’s fellow Brit blames eye poke for loss in UFC 325

“What can I say? Literally having the performance of my career on the biggest stage until I get hit with something that blinds me. I rushed in to close the distance to try and buy time to get my vision back, and before I knew it, I’m waking up in the octagon,” wrote Oban Elliott on Instagram. He also shared a photo showing heavy swelling and bruising around his left eye.

Inside Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, Elliott faced Jonathan Micallef in a preliminary bout. Despite coming in as the underdog, ‘The Welsh Gangster’ wasted no time and went on the offensive from the opening bell. Early on, he set a furious pace and looked close to overwhelming Micallef, even opening a nasty cut above his opponent’s eye.

However, Micallef kept his composure and gradually settled into the fight. Then, in the second round, Paddy Pimblett‘s fellow Brit pushed forward with the same aggression and grit, but Micallef suddenly changed pace. From there, he seamlessly took Elliott’s back and locked in the finish. Even so, Elliott also shares a worrying update about his health.

“CT scans at the hospital came back with a broken orbital wall and floor in my left eye. Cannot believe it. The fight game is brutal. I loved every second right until the end, and I was never gonna fucking tap. Good on you, Jono. Thank you, Sydney,” Oban Elliott added.

Notably, there were no official reports of an eye poke during Oban Elliott’s fight. However, Elliott and Paddy Pimblett have shared a long-running rivalry dating back to their Cage Warriors days. ‘The Welsh Gangster’ even publicly called out ‘The Baddy’ nearly six years ago, yet the two never crossed paths inside the octagon.

Interestingly, their storylines crossed again just a week ago because of similar injury setbacks, as Pimblett was poked in the eye on two separate occasions. The incident sent Pimblett to the hospital. Now back home, he has finally broken his silence on what happened.

Paddy Pimblett points to eye poke as turning point in Gaethje’s loss

All the hype around ‘Paddy the Baddy’ fell short when he faced top-five-ranked Justin Gaethje. On paper, Paddy Pimblett looked dominant among oddsmakers, but in reality, Gaethje relied on his experience and strategy to take control and win the fight. Now, with the eye poke allegation added to the story, the Briton is calling for a rematch.

“Even though I don’t think he’s got too many fights left, hopefully we can run it back in the future, because the things in that fight would have pissed me off. But, you know, we get on with it. It’s done now. There’s nothing we can do. There’s nothing we can go back and change. I just hope that in the future, he can step up and have a rematch with me,” said Paddy Pimblett via his YouTube channel.

Even with schedule shifts, eye pokes remain a major concern for fighters, as a serious eye injury could derail an entire career. How do you think the promotion should handle these fouls? Share your thoughts below.