Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is standing firm after drawing backlash for his take on Tom Aspinall’s controversial eye injury during his title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
The heavyweight title bout in Abu Dhabi came to a sudden halt after Gane accidentally double-poked Aspinall in the eyes just minutes into the first round. Despite being given the full five minutes to recover, Aspinall told cageside doctors he couldn’t see, forcing the referee to stop the fight and rule it a No Contest.
The incident capped off what many fans considered a disappointing night, aside from standout performances from Mackenzie Dern and Umar Nurmagomedov. But the real conversation after UFC 321 wasn’t about the fights, it was about Aspinall’s reaction and Sterling’s criticism.
Following the event, Aljamain Sterling questioned the severity of Aspinall’s injury and hinted that the heavyweight champion might have quit too early. Fans didn’t take that lightly, flooding his social media with heated comments. But instead of walking back his words, Sterling doubled down in a YouTube video — defending his stance and explaining his reasoning.
“I made some comments on the Aspinall fight and how he handled the situation of the foul, and I think my opinion still stands,” Sterling said. “Yeah, you can say because I’ve been fouled and you guys think that I faked an injury, but I did not. We’ve clarified this multiple times. Bad rehydration, got blasted in the head, barely knew where I was. It looked bad, but it wasn’t fake.”
Sterling, who famously won his UFC title by disqualification after an illegal knee from Petr Yan at UFC 259, says his perspective comes from experience.
“Illegal eye poke. Unintentional, but it happened — double zoink,” Sterling said. “Tommy was definitely compromised, no doubt about that. But when you’re fouled, you never say, ‘I can’t see.’ That’s the one thing you don’t say, because once those words come out, the ref has no choice but to stop the fight.”
According to Aljamain Sterling, Aspinall could have handled the situation differently if he truly wanted to continue.
“The ref came over multiple times, giving him chances to recover,” Sterling explained. “If you want to stay in the fight, you say, ‘Give me my time, let me see if things get better.’ But once you say, ‘I can’t see,’ that’s it. The fight’s over.”
Sterling’s comments drew comparisons to his own controversial title win, where critics accused him of exaggerating the effects of Yan’s illegal knee. Despite that, he believes there’s a clear difference between the two incidents.
“I got illegally kneed and destroyed on social media for over a year,” Sterling said. “Still to this day, people bring it up. But even then, I asked for time to recover. I never said, ‘I can’t continue.’ That’s the key difference.”
Aspinall was later taken to the hospital, where he was cleared of any serious eye damage, no cornea abrasion, and no detached retina. While that’s good news, it also raised questions for Sterling.
“From the photos, it looked like Tommy’s fine, which is great,” Sterling said. “But it makes me wonder if the fight was starting to get tough. Do I question his integrity? No. But do I question if it hurt as much as he said it did? Maybe. At the end of the day, I’m not in Tommy Aspinall’s body — I’m not behind his eyeballs.”
Whether fans agree or not, Aljamain Sterling made it clear he won’t be silenced for giving his honest opinion, even if it means stirring the pot in true “Funk Master” fashion.
