Jon Jones Reacts To Aspinall’s Eye Injury – ‘It Was His Way Out’

Ex-UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has accused the current heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall of exaggerating his eye injuries sustained in his no-contest with Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.

Aspinall could not continue after the first round following an accidental double eye poke by Ciryl Gane, with Aspinall admitting he could not see. In the aftermath, Jones mocked Aspinall by changing his Instagram profile picture to that of a duck, with an eyepatch, to troll those who suggested he was ducking Tom. Jones also previously stated that Aspinall’s grappling was ‘overrated.’ Fighters like Aljamain Sterling also questioned Aspinall’s “heart”, as Gane found early success with his jab. Jones did not hold back. 

Jones Reacts

“The doctor was like ‘He seems fine’. But Tom’s like ‘No, I can’t fight’. The guy wasn’t trying to see, the guy didn’t want to see. The eye he was covering appeared to be the eye that didn’t get penetrated. I don’t think Tom really knew which eye was supposed to be more compromised. He just knew he’d been fouled, and it was his way out. If we still fight, it’d be awesome. If not, I don’t feel like I need him. Especially after his last performance,” Jones stated

By casting Aspinall as someone who “quit” or “exaggerated” an injury—Jones seeks to plant seeds of doubt in Aspinall’s mind. This could be a deliberate effort to place immense pressure on Aspinall to prove his toughness and in any future matchup, thereby gaining a mental advantage long before the fight contract is signed.

However, following the fight, Aspinall was taken to the hospital and, in a video update, confirmed his vision was severely impaired. While later reports indicated no long-term damage to the eye, the immediate lack of vision was a confirmed. The fight was called a No Contest (NC) by the referee, based on the cageside doctor’s advice. A fighter who cannot see during the allotted recovery time must have the fight stopped to protect their health.