There may be unfinished business at the highest of the heavyweight division following UFC 321.
Tom Aspinall has received criticism for the way in which that his first defense of the undisputed title ended.
The Brit was unable to proceed after being poked in each of his eyes, clearly telling the referee that he couldn’t see minutes after the foul took place.
While Jon Jones was recently critical of Aspinall’s overall skillset, others have questioned whether he had the need to proceed competing.
One fighter who initially questioned this recently admitted that he quickly modified his mind.
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Alex Lohore wants Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane 2 within the UK
French MMA star Alex Lohore has ties to each Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, though he was rooting for his countryman to secure the heavyweight gold.
The European veteran reflected on the fight in a recent exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow.
Following a special recent interview, Bas Rutten was heavily praised by fans for his tackle the fight, with the legend arguing that Aspinall was right to withdraw while more criticism ought to be placed on Gane and his team.
Lohore admitted that while he was critical of the defending champion at first, like many, he quickly realized just how significant the attention pokes were when watching the replays.
‘Da Killa King’ told Bloody Elbow that he also agrees with the Brit’s decision to not attempt to fight through the attention pokes while being significantly compromised.
“I feel it was a shame. The attention poke, I assumed at first Aspinall was a bit… not being rude, but p——- out a bit but after watching it and seeing how deep the finger was in his eye, I used to be like, ‘Okay, fair enough.’ It’s a title shot, you don’t wish to risk it, you would like to have a correct fight so it’s fair.”
Lohore went on to say that he has one wish for the likely rematch that can happen between the 2 men within the near future.
“I wish they may make it within the UK, that might be great. All of the French lot could come and clearly the UK guys could be there, so it will be an excellent atmosphere but I don’t think Dana would want that.”
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Alex Lohore had his fight canceled on short notice
Alex Lohore was set to return to motion on November 7 to face Mohammad Fakhreddine for the interim super welterweight title at Brave 100 in Bahrain.
Unfortunately, it was announced earlier today (November 6) by the promotion that the fight will not happen as a consequence of Fakhreddine not showing as much as the morning weigh-ins.
Lohore, whose opponent was inducted into the Brave Hall of Fame during fight week, posted the next response to the news on Instagram.
“How do you set someone so unprofessional [in the] Hall of Fame.”
Lohore was paid his full purse by the promotion after he successfully made weight.