Henry Cejudo knows a thing or two about eye pokes that change the course of fights, so when he weighs in, people tend to listen.
The UFC’s latest trip to Abu Dhabi was headlined by a heavyweight clash between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, but it did not play out as anyone had hoped.
Aspinall had not fought in over 15 months while waiting for Jon Jones to unify the belts. And when he finally did return, it could not have gone much worse for him.
After taking some time to recover from what looked like a double eye poke, the Briton said he could not see out of his right eye. The fight was eventually called off as a no-contest.
Henry Cejudo calls UFC 321 the worst card ever following main event controversy
The crowd’s reaction was hard to miss, with boos ringing out and Aspinall clearly taken aback. He was later taken to hospital for checks, and the fans are still waiting on word about how serious the eye injury might be.
Henry Cejudo, who knows all too well what that feels like, was also there watching it unfold. Just a few months ago at UFC Seattle, he had his own fight stopped against Song Yadong after an eye poke left him unable to continue.
This time, though, Cejudo did not hold back about how he felt about the event as a whole. After travelling all the way to Abu Dhabi for it, he called it “the worst card in UFC history.”
“I mean, you see the comparison to what happened to my eye? It is what it is, it doesn’t take much.
“I know the UFC won’t be happy on this. It is what it is. They’ve got to rebook them now, more money, more publicity. This is probably the worst card that the UFC has ever put together, like honestly, straight up.
“This is the worst card in UFC history. From the co-main to the main event, I mean, it just couldn’t get any worse. Horrible decisions, judging, like the whole nine. This is like, wake me up when this card ends,” Cejudo stated.
Henry Cejudo shares the real impact of eye pokes
Eye pokes have been a persistent issue in the UFC, and even though a new glove was introduced to help address it, the organisation eventually went back to the old design after Jones requested it.
Having gone through a serious eye poke himself, Cejudo knows just how long-lasting the effects can be. He spoke out in support of Aspinall, explaining why he understood the champion’s response.
“Maybe there’s still a damage there, maybe your eye could be closed but for me, bro, like even a few days ago, like my eye will still turn red from the pollution because there’s still scar tissue there, even a couple of days ago, still man.”
‘Triple C’ added: “So it takes about a year for your eye to come back to normal again… It’s super hard to damage an eye but when you do damage it, it’s super sensitive.”
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