UFC veteran Matt Brown isn’t holding back when it comes to defending Tom Aspinall after the controversial end to UFC 321.
The heavyweight champion’s first undisputed title defence against Ciryl Gane came to an abrupt stop just minutes into the fight after Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in both eyes, leaving him unable to continue.
What should have been a thrilling main event in Abu Dhabi ended in frustration. Fans booed, the fight was ruled a no-contest, and almost immediately, criticism started pouring in, not just from spectators, but from fellow fighters like Chael Sonnen and Anthony Smith, who both suggested Aspinall should’ve fought through the injury.
That didn’t sit right with Matt Brown.
“I’ve really been disgusted with that narrative where everybody’s blaming Tom Aspinall,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast. “Where did this come from? How did he do anything wrong? People saying, ‘He should’ve sucked it up with one eye’, get the f*ck out of here. This isn’t Street Fighter. It’s not a video game. This is professional competition. He wants to win and give himself the best chance to win.”
Brown, who has seen his fair share of wars inside the Octagon, believes the reaction from Sonnen and Smith was reckless and unfair. He called their comments “way off base,” pointing out that Aspinall did exactly what any fighter should when dealing with a serious foul.
“They said it straight away on the post-fight show, probably just reacting in the moment,” Brown said. “There’s recency bias.
“Everyone’s upset the fight ended early. Fans paid $80 and wanted a real main event, I get that. But you have to look at this realistically. Ciryl Gane’s finger went knuckle-deep into his f*cking eye. The guy gets fouled and somehow he’s the one getting punished? Come on.”
The incident, which left Aspinall temporarily unable to see, immediately sparked debate on whether the heavyweight should’ve tried to continue. Sonnen argued that “fighting with one eye is very common,” while Smith agreed, suggesting Aspinall could’ve “pushed through.”
However, Matt Brown strongly disagrees, saying that logic ignores the rules and safety standards of professional fighting.
“We’re in a sport, not a street fight,” Brown said. “There are rules. When one guy breaks those rules, the other shouldn’t be the one to suffer. It shouldn’t have been a no-contest, it should’ve been a disqualification. If you want to set a standard, then follow it.”
Brown also believes Aspinall was in a lose-lose situation from the start.
“The only saving grace would’ve been if he fought with one eye and somehow beat the sh*t out of Ciryl Gane,” he added. “If any other scenario happened, it’s a loss for him. If he lost, people wouldn’t be talking about the eye poke, they’d say he couldn’t handle the pressure. It’s ridiculous.”
This isn’t the first time a fighter has faced backlash for stopping after a foul. Aljamain Sterling was vilified after winning the UFC title via disqualification when Petr Yan landed an illegal knee, and Belal Muhammad faced similar criticism after his eye poke against Leon Edwards. Both men went on to silence their critics in rematches, something Brown hopes Aspinall gets the chance to do against Gane.
UFC CEO Dana White has already confirmed plans for a rematch once Aspinall is cleared, and Brown is all for it. However, he’s adamant that the first fight shouldn’t have ended without accountability for Gane’s foul.
“Ciryl Gane deserves another shot, sure,” Brown said. “But let’s call it what it is, that should’ve been a DQ. Rules are rules, and if you break them, there should be consequences.”
In a sport built on toughness, Matt Brown made one thing clear: toughness doesn’t mean risking your vision for the sake of entertainment. Sometimes, walking away is the smarter fight.
