Ciryl Gane has not altered his approach following the eye poke incident involving Tom Aspinall. At UFC 321 last year, during Aspinall’s first defense of his undisputed heavyweight title, the fight concluded as a no-contest. Aspinall retained his championship because Gane unintentionally poked him in both eyes, compromising his vision to the point where he could not continue.
Following the bout, Aspinall required double eye surgery and still has not been cleared for sparring. Meanwhile, Gane is scheduled to face Alex Pereira on June 14 for the interim 265-pound championship.
Ciryl Gane Claims No Changes Made After UFC 321 Eye Poke
In a recent interview with New York Post Sports, Ciryl Gane was questioned about whether he had been working on keeping his fingers closed during fights to prevent similar incidents from happening to future opponents, like what occurred with Tom Aspinall.
However, Gane reiterated that the eye poke on Aspinall was purely accidental. He explained that he was attempting to “push” Aspinall’s face as the latter was trying to find an opening. Gane further commented that such occurrences are common in MMA and happen at nearly every event.
“No [I have not worked on keeping my fingers closed to avoid eye pokes]. Unfortunately, this has happened at almost every event. This isn’t something special. This is MMA.”