Austen Lane Apologizes to Justin Tafa for Poking His Eye in Former NFL DE's UFC Debut

Austen Lane apologized to Justin Tafa after an inadvertent eye poke brought their fight to a premature end Saturday.

Lane accidentally caught Tafa in the right eye 29 seconds into the first round at UFC on ABC 5. After trainers tended to Tafa, the referee ruled the bout a no contest.

Lane addressed the situation on social media and said the outcome was "not how I wanted it to go down."

Tafa, meanwhile, lobbied for the fight to be deemed a disqualification in his favor.

It was an inauspicious UFC debut for Lane. The 35-year-old former NFL defensive end worked his way up the MMA ladder and parlayed his September 2022 victory over Richard Jacobi on Dana White's Contender Series into a full contract.

Lane was unsuccessful during his first go-round on the DWCS. He suffered a first-round TKO to another former NFL star, Greg Hardy, in June 2018.

His overall record remains 12-3 following Saturday's card.