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Tom Aspinall called out by heavyweight who fought through eye poke to win at UFC Vegas 110

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow
By Christopher De Santiago | Last updated Nov 2, 2025 10:16 AM ET

Tom Aspinall caught a stray at UFC Vegas 110.

A week has passed since the UFC heavyweight title was on the line in the UFC 321 main event between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane.

Champion Aspinall was unable to continue in his first undisputed title defense after Gane poked him in both of his eyes in the opening round. The title fight was ruled a no-contest.

Despite the injury, Aspinall received much backlash from the fans who claim he took the easy way out of the fight.

Aspinall’s teammate Ante Delija made headlines at UFC Vegas 110 on Saturday when he eye-poked a top heavyweight contender—one that refused to give up.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta knocked out Delija minutes after the fight was paused due to the eye poke, and proceeded to call out Aspinall in his post-fight interview.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta wants to fight Tom Aspinall after saying he ‘quit’ at UFC 321

Cortes-Acosta was asked about the Aspinall call-out at the post-fight press conference.

“It’s for him being the champion and [he] quit because of the poke in the eye, too,” Cortes-Acosta said of why he mentioned Aspinall (via MMA Junkie).

“[Thirdly] because [Delija is] his training partner and then I knock him out in the first round,” Cortes-Acosta continued.

“[What] happens – me and Tom Aspinall fight?

“Because he say, Tom Aspinall, [Delija] is one of the best…

“What happens with Tom Aspinall fighting Waldo Cortes?” the #6-ranked contender added.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta has won eight of his last ten fights in the UFC heavyweight division.

Ante Delija’s eye poke comments aged horribly

Before he poked his opponent in the eye on Saturday night, Ante Delija had weighed in on Aspinall’s eye poke controversy from the week before.

“I really don’t understand,” Delija said of eye pokes at UFC Vegas 110 media day on Wednesday.

“I have 33 fights and I never poked somebody in the eye,” Delija claimed (via Amy Kaplan).

“I do believe the punishment for that should be severe…”

There’s a first time for everything and Delija had the experience of not only poking an opponent in the eye, but also believing he had won before the fight resumed minutes later.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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