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Tom Aspinall’s first undisputed heavyweight title defense didn’t go to plan. Dana White recently provided an update on Aspinall’s health after his UFC 321 bout with Ciryl Gane came to a sudden end due to eye pokes. In the aftermath of the event, the Brit has been criticized by some fans and fellow fighters for not continuing to fight after the foul. Bas Rutten received a lot of praise from other fans for his well-rounded take that supported the defending champion while questioning his challenger. Another legendary fighter who knows what it’s like to compete for UFC gold explained why he also believes that Aspinall made the right call. Alistair Overeem says Tom Aspinall would have felt ‘excruciating’ pain Having secured titles in the likes of Strikeforce, Dream, and K1, Alistair Overeem is one of the most experienced elite heavyweights in MMA history. The former UFC title challenger is in attendance for Brave 100 in Bahrain later today, having spoken to the media shortly after the face-offs on November 6. Overeem told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive interview that he has no issue with the way that Tom Aspinall’s first undisputed title defense ended after watching the footage. “We can all see on the pictures that the eye poke was very deep,” Overeem stated. “I don’t know if you’ve ever had an eye poke but it can be very painful, especially if it’s going to go in that deep. There’s going to be damage and even if there would not be permanent damage and just a bruise, it would be very painful.” Overeem went on to speak from experience when explaining that you can tell how bad the pokes were because of Aspinall’s reaction. He explained that it’s not normal for fighters to feel pain when they’re inside the Octagon, so if it’s clear that this is what’s happening, it’s only going to get worse. “I think, looking at Aspinall’s face, he was in pain. I’ll tell you this, if you’re in a fight, adrenaline levels spike, you’re not supposed to feel pain. So, if you’re in a fight and you feel pain, after the fight when those adrenaline levels drop, you’re going to be in excruciating pain. So I think Aspinall made the right call to decide not to fight and I think we can all be happy that he doesn’t have permanent eye damage.” Alistair Overeem wants to see the fight happen again When Alistair Overeem was asked for his thoughts on the fight in general, he didn’t have much to add due to the disappointing way that it ended. Like many, he wants to see Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane get booked for a second matchup in the near future so there can be a decisive result. “I think a rematch is warranted since the eye poke was accidental,” Overeem said.
