Joe Rogan wants stiffer punishments for the fouls that put Tom Aspinall out of action.
The former UFC heavyweight champion will be watching from home as the title gets defended by Ciryl Gane this Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
After Aspinall vacated the throne, the French star was elevated from interim to undisputed status. Now, in the UFC 334 main event, Gane will defend against Josh Hokit.
Controversy surrounds ‘Bon Gamin’ and his status as heavyweight king. And if Rogan had his way, Gane would have been disqualified against Aspinall 13 months ago.
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Who leaves UFC 334 as the heavyweight champion? 👑
Joe Rogan wants referees to bring the hammer down on eye pokes after Ciryl Gane injured Tom Aspinall
Aspinall was making his first undisputed title defense at UFC 321 when Gane poked him multiple times in both eyes.
The Englishman was unable to continue, resulting in a No Contest to end the Abu Dhabi pay-per-view event.
Since then, Aspinall has undergone double eye surgery, and a recent setback in his recovery means he will miss the entirety of 2026.
Having seen the damage that can come from the egregious fouls, Joe Rogan wants harsher penalties.
“That was a travesty,” the UFC commentator said of Aspinall needing to vacate the title due to injury on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
“To this day, I don’t like how that was handled. Even the notion that somehow he could have been able to continue, that is not the thing anybody should be saying.
“When someone gets someone’s fingers (driven) knuckle-deep into their eyeballs, that should not be the conversation,” he continued. “Eye pokes are f—— terrible.
“I think there should be a non-negotiable one point deduction. On the second eye poke, you are disqualified.
“People do it, and they do it on purpose sometimes. We all need to understand that. … Most times it’s accidental. However, there are guys who will poke you in the eye (deliberately).”
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Gane has insisted his pokes against Aspinall were not intentional, but that hasn’t stopped the Frenchman from gaining quite the reputation for fouling.
The topic has found its way into the pre-fight discourse ahead of UFC 334, with Hokit posting skits of him training for eye pokes during his camp.
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