The incident involving Tom Aspinall and the controversial eye poke during UFC 321 has prompted widespread discussion, with a former UFC light heavyweight champion sharing his insights. This occurred during a recent airing of the Believe You Me podcast, hosted by Michael Bisping and Paul Felder.
Jiri Prochazka was the fighter who provided his own analysis of the no-contest outcome from the Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane heavyweight title match in late October. Some observers suggested that Aspinall opted to concede and didn’t embody a conventional sense of a fighter’s courage. Conversely, many believed it was acceptable to be transparent about his condition, with the broader discussion focusing on the sport pursuing reforms to completely eliminate eye pokes.
A segment of the podcast addressing the Abu Dhabi-hosted UFC pay-per-view main event was extracted and shared on the X account @Redcorner_MMA, featuring Prochazka’s statement:
“Maybe Tom [Aspinall] began to overthink, questioning ‘Am I truly capable of defeating him?’ or considering, ‘Perhaps I’ll be better prepared next time,’ or contemplating the outcome if something unexpected occurs and he wins. These are just mental processes. Initiating this kind of thought in such scenarios can alter the course of the fight. So, I honestly don’t know. Perhaps the injury was that severe; you’d have to ask Tom.”
Jiri Prochazka suggests his approach to Tom Aspinall’s situation at UFC 321
In another portion of the BYM broadcast, the former UFC light heavyweight champion conveyed his thoughts on how the Aspinall-Gane contest concluded, with Jiri Prochazka remarking [via MMA Junkie]:
“In my perspective, my inclination is to conclude the fight. My desire is to secure victory. If granted a brief respite, I would either recuperate or rely more on my intuition or any other means, but my intent would be to conclude the fight, to emerge victorious, especially considering the audience’s anticipation for this fight – particularly the main event. However, it’s possible Tom began to overanalyze the situation.”
