It has been over ten days since UFC 321 turned into a nightmare for Tom Aspinall and the entire heavyweight division. The Englishman’s highly anticipated return after 14 months ended abruptly due to a double eye poke from Ciryl Gane, leaving the main event in chaos and the 265-pound division at a standstill once again. To make matters worse, former champion Jon Jones poured salt in the wound by mocking Aspinall on social media.
He even changed his profile picture to a duck wearing an eye patch, a clear dig at the incident. Jones didn’t stop there as he later showed up to the DBX 4 weigh-ins on a horse wearing a black eye patch, taking another brutal dig at Aspinall. The stunt was widely seen as a nod to fans who accuse Jones of retiring before ever facing the British interim champion. Now, new footage has surfaced showing Jones speaking candidly about the UFC 321 main event.
Jon Jones Finally Breaks Silence on Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane Main Event at UFC 321
In the newly surfaced clip, Jon Jones didn’t hold back on his assessment of Tom Aspinall. He criticized the Englishman’s wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, calling him incredibly overrated, remarks that many fans believe reflect what unfolded in Abu Dhabi.
During a recent appearance on the NoScripts podcast, Jones was asked to break down the UFC 321 main event from a technical standpoint. The host pointed out that Ciryl Gane seemed to control the fight early on, which put Aspinall in trouble.
That’s when Jones said, “With Ciryl Gane? I believe that his [Aspinall] wrestling and jiu-jitsu is incredibly overrated. He has a beautiful 1-2. I got to learn a lot about his patterns in his last fight. Beautiful 1-2.”
Jones then made a shocking claim about the rest of Aspinall’s skill set, adding, “But that’s really about it. He couldn’t touch Ciryl Gane at all. That’s the way I felt. I feel like Gane was just getting warmed up.”
He continued, “Gane’s hands was down and he was shaking his shoulders [imitates Gane] bouncing around.”
👀😬 Jon Jones speaks on Tom Aspinall’s performance against Ciryl Gane, says he’s a one trick pony:
“”I believe his wrestling and jiu jitsu is incredibly overrated. I got to learn a lot about his patterns in his last fight. Beautiful 1-2, but that’s really about it. He couldn’t… pic.twitter.com/bmB3c1Ihq7
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) November 6, 2025
The hosts chimed in, agreeing that Gane was able to tag Aspinall several times and even busted his nose with a jab. They concluded that the reigning heavyweight champion looked overwhelmed and would need to make major adjustments in his next outing.
Gane indeed showcased his speed and composure early in Round 1, landing clean shots, including the one that bloodied Aspinall’s nose, along with sharp leg kicks. He also successfully defended a takedown attempt from the Englishman.
Despite the chaos that followed, the official stats showed a close contest: Gane landed 30 significant strikes to Aspinall’s 27, with the Frenchman posting a 75% accuracy rate compared to Aspinall’s 69%.
However, that was all the action fans got to see, as the bout was stopped just 4 minutes and 35 seconds into the opening round. Referee Jason Herzog called it off after Aspinall was unable to continue following the double eye poke.
Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane was ruled a No Contest after Aspinall could not continue from an eye poke.
Aspinall retains his heavyweight title. #UFC321 pic.twitter.com/jM2mK1rvdl
— ESPN (@espn) October 25, 2025
Since that night, Aspinall has been making regular hospital visits for treatment on his injured eye. His father, Andy Aspinall, revealed that his son couldn’t see out of his right eye for three days after UFC 321. Fortunately, things now appear to be improving, judging by the Englishman’s recent Instagram stories.
Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White has already started working on setting up a rematch between Aspinall and Gane. Fans are eager to see how things unfold the next time these two heavyweights meet inside the Octagon.
