UFC 321 results, highlights: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane ends in no contest after brutal eye poke

The main event was just getting good when an unfortunate accident occurred

Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane were delivering an exciting first round in the main event of UFC 321, with Gane attempting to take the heavyweight championship from around Aspinall's waist. Unfortunately, the highly anticipated main event came to a halt after Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes, leaving the champion unable to continue and ending the fight in a no contest.

The fight started in the way fans were hoping, with both Aspinall and Gane sitting down on heavy strikes and doing damage. Gane's jab proved an effective weapon throughout the frame, bloodying Aspinall's nose while Aspinall returned with heavy leg kicks and clean punches of his own.

Unfortunately, in the late stages of the round, Gane reached out with an open hand as he threw a kick, and he poked Aspinall in both of his eyes.

The fight was halted to give Aspinall an opportunity to recover, but it was immediately clear that Aspinall's eye was significantly compromised.

Aspinall repeatedly told referee Jason Herzog and the cageside doctor that he couldn't see out of his right eye. While Herzog gave Aspinall several minutes to attempt to clear his vision, Aspinall repeatedly said he couldn't see, ending the bout in a no contest at the 4:35 mark of Round 1.

It's a disappointing result, with Gane getting off to a fantastic start in his third bid to become champion and Aspinall returning fire in his first defense as UFC champion. However, safety comes first for the fighters, though the crowd was not happy and booed Aspinall for not continuing to fight.

"Guys, I just got poked knuckle deep in the eyeball," Aspinall said after the fight. "What the f--- are you booing? I didn't do the poke. ... This is bullshit, the fight was just getting going, complete bullshit. I'm pissed off."

Gane was emotional and frustrated with the situation, though he did seem to take responsibility for the eye poke.

"I feel sorry at first, I'm very sorry for the fans," Gane said. "I'm sorry for Tom Aspinall. I'm sorry for myself. We put a lot of energy into this fight, and I'm disappointed, but this is the sport."

Saturday's pay-per-view also crowned a new women's strawweight champion. Mackenzie Dern, empowered by her daughter cagside, cinched her second win over Virna Jandiroba to win the title vacated by Zhang Weili. Dern grinded through the five rounds against Jandiroba en route to taking a unanimous decision. The door could be open for Weili to return and face Dern for the title if she is unsuccessful in her bid to claim the women's flyweight title from Valentina Shevchenko in November.

Plus, Umar Nurmagomedov may not have put together the dominant showing that UFC CEO Dana White wanted, but he did pick up an important win over Mario Bautista. Nurmagomedov had to navigate some troubled waters with Bautista attempting a deep submission early and then leading a big knee late. But the prodigy of cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov did just that in a unanimous decision in which he swept the judges' scorecards. He likely awaits the winner of champion Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan after they meet in December.

CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way Saturday with the live results and highlights below.

UFC 321 fight card, results

• Tom Aspinall (c) vs. Ciryl Gane ends in no contest after unintentional eye poke
• Mackenzie Dern (c) def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
• Umar Nurmagomedov def. Mario Bautista via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Alexander Volkov def. Jailton Almeida via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Azamat Murzakanov def. Aleksandar Rakic via first-round TKO (punches)
• Quillan Salkilld def. Nasrat Haqparast via first-round knockout (head kick)
• Ikram Aliskerov def. Jun Yong Park via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Ludovit Klein def. Mateusz Rebecki via majority decision (29-28, 28-27, 28-28)
• Valter Walker def. Louie Sutherland via first-round submission (heel hook)
• Nathaniel Wood def. Jose Delgado via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Chris Barnett via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27, 29-27)
• Mitch Raposo def Azat Maksum via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
• Mizuki def. Jaqueline Amorim via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

[Oct 25, 2025 at 4:56 pm ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

No one will feel good about how Aspinall vs. Gane ended. The challenger was looking surprisingly effective in the early minutes, but an accidental double eyepoke ensured the fight would never make it out of Round 1. Aspinall could not see out of his right eye after an allotted five-minute break, resulting in a no-contest.

Aspinall got to a fast start as expected. The champion immediately took the center, throwing heavy shots at the challenger. Gane, known for his elusive footwork, ate the shots well and wasn't intimidated. Gane commanded the center and found success with a snapping jab, bloodying the champ. Aspinall shot for a takedown, but Gane defended it. Aspinall tried to cut off the cage, but Gane did a masterful job of circling away, landing jabs and low kicks. Aspinall responded with a nice leg kick of his own. With 45 seconds left, Gane was outstriking Aspinall numerically and in striking accuracy. An accidental double eyepoke from Gane paused the fight. 

[Oct 25, 2025 at 4:39 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is a -345 favorite in his title defense against Ciryl Gane (+275). This is Gane's third shot at the heavyweight championship and may well be his last. Aspinall is a wrecking ball who has destroyed most of his opponents in the first round.

We're moments away from the start of the fight.  

[Oct 25, 2025 at 4:26 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

A hard-fought contest with some tightly contested rounds. Ultimately, Dern's striking was more effective and damaging throughout and that was enough to earn her the win and the vacant strawweight championship.

[Oct 25, 2025 at 4:23 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jandiroba scored a takedown early in the round. Dern was able to quickly return to her feet and then stuff the next Jandiroba takedown attempt. The two women battled for position in a clinch against the cage, with Jandiroba landing some good knees. Jandiroba scored another takedown. Dern continued to be aggressive with elbows off of her back, staying busy and stifling much of Jandiroba's offense. Jandiroba eventually stood up and allowed Dern back to her feet. Jandiroba landed a nice two-punch combination. Dern ducked under a wild spinning backfist and scored a takedown, finishing the round with a bit of ground and pound.

[Oct 25, 2025 at 4:17 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Jandiroba landed a sweeping right hand and popped off a few jabs. Dern landed a hard body kick but ate a counter left hand moments later. Jandiroba landed a good right and a few leg kicks before Dern shot in for a takedown, but couldn't get it. Jandiroba picked up the pace with her striking before eating a hard right and a jab from Dern. Jandiroba dipped down for a double-leg takedown with about 90 second left in the round but chose to remain standing rather than follow Dern to the ground. Jandiroba scored a one-two combo before Dern drove through a double-leg to end up on top on the canvas. 

[Oct 25, 2025 at 4:10 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dern's jab continued to land to Jandiroba's damaged eye. Dern went for a takedown but ate several elbows to the side of the head as Jandiroba defended. Dern continued to look for takedowns, though she wasn't getting Jandiroba to the ground and had been the better striker. Jandiroba was the one to score the takedown, but again was eating elbows from Dern. Jandiroba has had plenty of wrestling success but Dern is doing the flashier striking.

[Oct 25, 2025 at 4:04 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dern was the first to shoot for a takedown in the round, driving Jandiroba into the cage but not finishing to the ground. Dern continued walking forward, throwing flurries of strikes, many of which landed. Jandiroba landed a looping right hand. Jandiroba started to pick up her own pace with strikes and found success in doing so before a nice double-leg takedown. Jandiroba landed some ground and pound before backing up and allowing Dern back to her feet. Jandiroba began to swell under her right eye as the striking exchanges continued. Jandiroba reversed a Dern throw to end up on top on the ground, but Dern kept throwing punches and elbows upward. 

[Oct 25, 2025 at 3:58 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dern landed a sharp leg kick early on, and she went right back to it seconds later. Dern opened up with some very good flurries of punches and then landed a good knee. Dern's right hand continued to land and she shoved off a Jandiroba takedown attempt. Jandiroba finally landed a good right hand before a hard jab. Jandiroba scored the first takedown of the fight, but Dern was able to defend off her back and get back to her feet. Jandiroba scored another takedown and the women exchanged strikes while seated upright on the canvas before Dern got back to her feet. Dern worked with short strikes to the body against the cage late in the round.

[Oct 25, 2025 at 3:40 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dern and Jandiroba rematch, this time with the vacant women's strawweight title on the line. Dern won their first meeting in 2020, but neither woman has remained static in their development since the first meeting. This is an interesting battle with both women having strong jiu jitsu and questionable striking. The first fight was mostly decided on the feet and Dern may have a slight advantage there, which is likely why she's the small -155 favorite.

[Oct 25, 2025 at 3:35 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Bautista proved he was being overlooked as a +450 underdog, but Nurmagomedov was just a step above him with his ability to wrestle and maintain control. Nurmagomedov likely locked up another shot at Merab Dvalishvili and the bantamweight championship with the win, snapping Bautista's eight-fight winning streak in the process.

[Oct 25, 2025 at 3:33 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Bautista opened with a kick to the body, and Nurmagomedov landed a straight left. Nurmagomedov missed a head kick. A hard left landed again for Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov went back to wrestling, shooting for a takedown and then holding onto a body lock as Bautista tried to free himself and find some space. Nurmagomedov was relentless in seeking the takedown, eventually dragging Bautista down. Baustista never stopped working, fighting to get free and try to find some space to do damage, even as Nurmagomedov remained stuck to him. They ended up in a striking flurry in the final 10 seconds but nothing came of it.

[Oct 25, 2025 at 3:26 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Bautista scored a knockdown early in the round with a big knee, but Nurmagomedov was able to secure another takedown. Nurmagomedov took the back, but Bautista managed to scramble back to his feet. Bautista shot in for a takedown but missed it and threw a flurry of strikes, allowing Nurmagomedov to score another takedown. Bautista again managed to scramble back to his feet. Nurmagomedov landed a heavy kick to the body and a straight left. Bautista came back with a few strikes but Nurmagomedov likely did enough to erase the early knee.