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Ciryl Gane put on a destructive show against Tom Aspinall at UFC 321. But for the unintentional double eye poke, the bout ended before the first round. Shortly after, it became one of the most anticlimactic heavyweight title fights in recent memory. Everyone is upset since the show was an absolute flop, and Gane’s coach, Fernand Lopez, felt the same way. The underwhelming ending absolutely robbed the fun from fans. Even UFC boss Dana White bluntly destroyed the British fighter, saying Tom didn’t want to fight. However, Lopez is showing support despite the flop ending, claiming the no-contest end was fair because when a player cannot see, the match should be ended like this. Ciryl Gane’s Coach Drops Cold Truth About Tom Aspinall Eye Poke Controversy Lopez was emotionally down on camera, but he didn’t find any room to argue with the stoppage. Speaking to Daniel Cormier, the veteran cornerman gave his blunt assessment that reflected the noise across the entire MMA community. He told Cormier post-fight, “Ciryl looked good there. For us, everything was going as planned. Absolutely planned. Unfortunately, if he can’t see, he can’t see. There’s nothing we can do about it. So disappointed.” His last line draws no excuse but just raw disappointment mixed with cold reality. The MMA Factory boss continued, “So disappointed because today he knows that was his day. Today, he knew he would outwrestle this guy. He knew that.” Lopez genuinely believed Gane was moments away from proving every critic wrong. But the stoppage was in no way debatable. The 32-year-old repeatedly told the cageside referee, “I can’t f—— see,” right after his eye got nasty hit. Then, medical staff confirmed they had “no concerns” about the globe of Aspinall’s eye, but after four of the five allocated timeout minutes expired, the referee called it a no-contest because Aspinall couldn’t continue. Ciryl Gane Also Disappointed Over The Way His Fight Against Tom Aspinall Ended Gane echoed his coach’s sentiments at the post-fight media availability. He said per theringreport, “I think I started very well, because everybody knows his strategy every time; he starts hard and surprises his opponent. I think we did well, defending a takedown and touching him… It was a really great first round, and that’s why I was a little bit disappointed, a little bit sad about this issue. But this is the sport.” The Frenchman admitted his emotions ran wild after the stoppage like everyone else. “At first I was angry because I didn’t want him to stop the fight, after I was disappointed, sad, and then after that apologetic for the people,” he added. Gane then told TNT Sports he felt sorry for the fans, for Tom Aspinall, and for himself. He said they had all put in a lot of effort, and while he was disappointed, that’s just how the sport goes sometimes.
