Dana White Plans Tom Aspinall vs. Cyril Gane UFC Rematch After No Contest for Eye Poke

Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane are set for a rematch after Saturday's UFC 321 heavweight title fight was ruled no contest, UFC CEO Dana White said Saturday.

Aspinall was unable to recover after Gane poked him in the right eye four and a half minutes into the opening round in Abu Dhabi.

"I feel the way everybody feels. Great showing, s----y ending," White said Saturday about the fight (h/t Championship Rounds).

When asked if UFC planned to rebook the match after Aspinall recovered, White answered, "Yeah. Total pain in the ass, but yes."

Saturday's match marked the first time an accidental foul has caused a no-contest ruling in a UFC title fight, per ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

Aspinall repeatedly stated he couldn't see out of his injured right eye while receiving medical attention after the fight was stopped, per MMA Fighting's Damon Martin.

Gane said after the fight that he felt sorry for the crowd, the fans, Aspinall and himself.

"I'm really disappointed but this is the sport," Gane said, per Martin. "I don't know what's going to happen for the future. We will see."

Aspinall recently spent more than a year as the UFC's interim heavyweight champion while waiting to fight former title-holder Jon Jones for his unanimous championship.

Jones, who took the unanimous heavyweight title from Gane in March 2023, defended it just once against Stipe Miocic last November. Miocic entered the bout having not fought since 2021, then announced his retirement after Jones' TKO victory.

Aspinall, meanwhile, continued waiting. He became the longest reigning interim champion in UFC history in April, one month before White announced that Jones' retirement and Aspinall's default undisputed title.

Saturday marked Aspinall's first chance to defend his undisputed title. Instead, the UFC announced after Saturday's fight he will once more retain the belt by default.

UFC fans may need to wait until 2026 to see a champion claim the undisputed heavyweight title in the ring for the first time in two and a half years.