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Tom Aspinall was warned about fouls by referee Jason Herzog just moments before his showdown against Ciryl Gane. The Brit - a former interim heavyweight champion - was promoted to the undisputed title holder earlier this year after Jon Jones announced his retirement from the sport. In his first defence as full champion, Aspinall was handed a tough test in Gane in the main event at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi. Despite the anticipation, the contest failed to live up to the hype. The challenger started well, landing a few jabs and was very quick on his feet, before he accidentally poked Aspinall in both eyes. The 32-year-old was given five minutes to recover, but was unable to see - forcing the referee to wave off the contest. The Wigan warrior was subsequently taken to hospital for further examination. Before any major fight, referees opt to head into the changing rooms and speak to both fighters separately, warning them and laying out their demands. UFC 321 was no different, and in a video uploaded to Aspinall's official YouTube channel , Herzog can be seen speaking to the Brit just moments before he made the walk to the Octagon. Herzog sat Aspinall and the rest of his team down, before delivering a stern and severe message to the UFC star. "The best part about fouling right is that it works. So, the best thing you can do is keep your head in the game and I will do everything I can to manage it," he said. After being poked in both eyes, many were hoping that the Brit would brush it off and carry on, but things started taking a turn for the worse when Aspinall was heard telling the cage side physician and referee: "His f***ing finger was right in my eyeball mate," while also complaining that he couldn't see. Speaking backstage after the contest, Aspinall said: “I can’t even open my eye,” and stressing that his rival was warned the referee for an eye poke earlier in the round. “I was like, ‘I can’t see,’ but I thought it was gonna get better,” Aspinall continued. “I would dab it [the eye, with a wet towel], take it off, and it would just be worse. I’d go again, a few more seconds, take it off, I could see less and less. It was getting f******g worse.” Aspinall is expected to defend his title against Gane in an immediate rematch once he has fully recovered. "It's total pain in the arse but yes," said UFC chief Dana White about a rematch. "They're both in shape, other than whatever's wrong with his eye. Both guys are not injured. [We will do it] as soon as possible. "It's unfortunate that it ended the way that it did. And yes, I think that there probably will be a lot more interest after they saw [how Gane performed]. He had Tom bloodied up and Tom didn't want to continue in the fight. The rematch is very interesting. I can't force people to fight. If I want to arrange a bout, I can't force people to fight. You certainly can't make somebody carry on if they feel they've been injured. Only Tom knows what occurred. Could he see? Couldn't he see? Could he continue? Only he knows that." Steve Garcia will take on David Onama in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 1. The prelims are expected to get underway at around 8pm UK time (3pm ET / 12pm PT / 2pm CT), while the main card will start at 11pm UK time Sunday (6pm ET / 3pm PT / 5pm CT). In the main event, Onama will likely make the walk to the cage first at around 2am UK time Sunday (9pm ET / 6pm PT / 8pm CT). Fans in the United Kingdom will be able to watch all the action live on TNT Sports.
