Outside Source
Aspinall put his heavyweight title on the line against Ciryl Gane in the main event at UFC 321 on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Gane was seemingly doing well on his feet before he accidentally poked Aspinall in both eyes at the same time late in the first round. Aspinall was unable to see clearly, and the bout was declared a no contest, leaving fans and pundits disappointed.
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While Sonnen acknowledges that eye pokes are illegal, he notes that fighters often have to fight with one eye when the other is left compromised by legal shots. The former UFC light heavyweight believes Aspinall, as the UFC heavyweight champion, could have continued fighting after getting poked in the eye.
’Fighting with One Eye is Very Common’
“Being poked in the eye is illegal,” Sonnen said on the ESPN post-fight show. “But fighting with one eye is very common. The opponent is trying to hit your eye, he’s trying to bust up and make your nose bleed… You’re the heavyweight champion of the world. You’ve got to fight with one eye at times.”
Aspinall was booed by fans for not continuing with the fight. “Honey Badger” was visibly angry and couldn’t understand why he was being booed despite being on the receiving end of the eye poke.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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