Joe Rogan has already come up with solution for UFC eye pokes
Tom Aspinall was unable to continue his fight with Ciryl Gane after being poked in both eyes, but Joe Rogan has previously revealed exactly how eyes pokes can be avoided
Joe Rogan has already offered a extensive take on how to fix eye pokes in the UFC.
On Saturday night, Tom Aspinall defended his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in Abu Dhabi. However, their fight was marred by controversy after the fight was waved off in the first round after the champion was poked in both eyes by the Frenchman.
Aspinall was given five minutes to recover by referee Jason Herzog, but despite his best efforts to rid of the pain, the Brit was unable to continue. The fight was eventually deemed a no contest, and just moments later, Aspinall was taken to the hospital for further examination.
Since the UFC's formation back in 1993, eye pokes have been a major problem in the promotion. Popular commentator Rogan - who is no stranger when it comes offering his verdict on how certain rules should be changed in MMA - has previously had his say on how eye pokes can be prevented.
During an episode of his podcast in September 2024, the American said: “I keep saying it, but I feel they should cover those fingertips. You’ve got to cover the fingers. There’s no reason to not cover the fingers like a bad glove. Just have a piece of leather that goes over the fingertips, so you have one thing. It’s not gonna invade your grappling, and it’s not gonna change your striking. It’s not going to change anything.
“This way, at least if you get poked in the eye you are getting a blunt thing, you are not getting something that goes into your eyeball. Have them all covered and have a soft-foamed ridge over the top of it. So even if you are getting poked in the eyes, you are not getting an individual thing going deep into your eyeball with an eyeball, which is what you get now. You get f—— fingernails!”
READ MORE: Tom Aspinall made spooky Ciryl Gane fight prediction hours before eye pokeREAD MORE: Tom Aspinall shares footage of eye injury as doctor issues updateRogan's comments re-emerged back in February following Henry Cejudo's clash with Song Yadong. Yadong ended up scoring a technical decision victory after an eye poke rendered Cejudo unable to continue with the fight. The former dual-weight champion has since called for the organisation to change the rules.
As for Aspinall's future, UFC chief Dana White admits he will immediately rebook the heavyweight title fight. "It’s total pain in the ass but yes," he said. "They’re both in shape, other than whatever’s wrong with his eye. Both guys are not injured. [We will do it] as soon as possible.
"It’s unfortunate that it ended the way that it did. And yes, I think that there probably will be a lot more interest after they saw [how Gane performed]. He had Tom bloodied up and Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight. The rematch is very interesting."
When is the next UFC fight?
Steve Garcia will take on David Onama in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 1. The prelims are expected to get underway at around 8pm UK time (3pm ET / 12pm PT / 2pm CT), while the main card will start at 11pm UK time Sunday (6pm ET / 3pm PT / 5pm CT).
In the main event, Onama will likely make the walk to the cage first at around 2am UK time Sunday (9pm ET / 6pm PT / 8pm CT). Fans in the United Kingdom will be able to watch all the action live on TNT Sports.
