The Briton was defending the undisputed heavyweight title for the first time when a freak accident occurred in round one.

Tom Aspinall’s long-awaited return to the UFC Octagon ended in bizarre and dispiriting fashion on Saturday, as his contest with Ciryl Gane was derailed by an eye poke.

In the very first round of Aspinall’s first defence of the undisputed heavyweight title, he was poked in both eyes at the same time, leading to a customary pause in the action of five minutes maximum.

But after Aspinall was checked on by the referee and a doctor, it was deemed that the Briton could not continue, and the UFC 321 main event was declared a No Contest due to an “accidental foul”.

It was a deflating and unexpected ending in Abu Dhabi after so much hype, with Aspinall due to defend the undisputed belt after being elevated from interim champion this summer, following the retirement of Jon Jones – who held the official belt at the time.

Meanwhile, Gane – a former interim champion – was challenging for the undisputed strap for the third time, having previously lost to Francis Ngannou in 2022 and Jon Jones in 2023.

The pre-fight hype gave way to a tense opening round, with Aspinall unable to find the knockout shot that he usually delivers so early, while his French opponent also neutralised one or two grappling attempts.

Then, late in the round, Aspinall was poked in both eyes at the same time, with his right eye causing him particular pain, it seemed. Boos rained down inside the Etihad Arena, with fans frustrated by the abrupt end to proceedings.

“I just got poked knuckled-deep in the eyeball,” said Aspinall, 32, in his post-fight interview in the cage. “What the f***, why are you booing? What am I supposed to do about it? I didn’t do the poke, I can’t see!

“This is bulls***. The fight was just getting going. Look at this, a double eye poke,” he continued, motioning at a slow-motion replay on the big screen.

Gane, 35, was also subjected to boos as he conducted his post-fight interview in the Octagon. “I’m very sorry about this,” he said, “for the crowd, for Tom Aspinall, for myself. This is the sport.”

UFC president Dana White later said Aspinall had been transported to a local hospital, and hinted that the promotion would arrange a rematch as soon as possible.

Wigan’s Aspinall had last fought in July 2024, knocking out Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds to retain the interim heavyweight belt in Manchester, having made the rare decision to defend it.

Gane, meanwhile, entered UFC 321 on the back of a controversial decision victory against Alexander Volkov in December.