Tom Aspinall made 'the right decision' to stop UFC heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane, says Muhammad Mokaev
Britain's Tom Aspinall was unable to continue following an eye poke in the opening round of his UFC heavyweight title fight with Ciryl Gane; Former UFC star Muhammad Mokaev believes Aspinall made the right call; "If you can't see, you can't fight," says training partner April Hunter
Friday 31 October 2025 16:57, UK
Tom Aspinall was "right" to end his heavyweight title fight early, according to former UFC star Muhammad Mokaev.
Aspinall's UFC title defence against Ciryl Gane ended controversially in a 'no contest' last Saturday night after the champion from Salford was unable to continue following an accidental eye poke in the opening round in Abu Dhabi.
When attempting a punch, Gane caught his opponent's eyes with his fingers, causing Aspinall to stop the fight, telling the cageside doctor that he could not see.
- Got Sky? Watch LIVE on your phone📱
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺
It's a decision that has left fight fans divided but in an interview with Sky Sports, former UFC star Mokaev expressed his support for the British fighter.
"I don't think he deserves the criticism," Mokaev told Sky Sports. "It's the right decision what he did, you cannot buy health.
"He is the champion, if you are a contender and you get an eye poke then maybe you can continue fighting, if you lose you lose, it doesn't matter.
"If you are champion and you lose, you will never explain to anyone that you got eye poked.
"It's definitely not because he was scared of him, he wouldn't have signed the contract if he was.
"I don't believe these casual fans all hating him for no reason. I have known Tom Aspinall since I was 13 years old, he is one of the best people I have ever met in my life."
Training partner and super-welterweight boxer April Hunter has also voiced her support for Aspinall.
"He's had two fingers in his eyeballs," Hunter told Sky Sports. "I see he's getting a lot of stick online, if you can't see you can't see. I feel for him and hopefully he has a speedy recovery."
Due to the UFC title fight ending in a 'no contest', Aspinall retained his belt, with a rematch expected.
"I think they should get that back on as soon as possible," Hunter said.
While Mokaev is backing the heavyweight champion to recover and retain his belts when the pair meet again: "I respect this man, and I believe he will take the rematch and win."
Rematch might have to wait
Any immediate plans for a rematch between the two heavyweight titans will have to be put on hold until Aspinall's vision can fully recover.
His father and coach, Andy Aspinall, provided a worrying update on the British fighter's condition days after the bout claiming he "still can't see".
"[The doctor] said, it's bad, it's not good. His eye is a little bit more closed than it was and his right eye, he still can't see anything, it's just grey," Aspinall Sr said on his son's YouTube channel, 'Tom Aspinall Official'.
"His left eye, 50 per cent, so one's really blurry and one's still not working.
"His [left] eye isn't following properly so the muscles aren't working strong enough. We've got to have additional tests this week, and he's got to have a CT scan to see if the bone is alright, but they do think it is."
