"I've been there, bro" - Belal Muhammad shares advice for Tom Aspinall after Englishman catches flak for UFC 321 eye-poke incident

Belal Muhammad recently shared some advice for Tom Aspinall after the Englishman's ill-fated title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.

Aspinall and Gane threw down in a heavyweight title fight in Abu Dhabi last weekend. While many expected the two juggernauts to put on a five-round slug fest for the fans, the fight abruptly ended in the opening round after Gane accidentally poked Aspinall's eyes. The referee ultimately ruled the bout a no-contest after the Englishman was unable to continue fighting.

In the aftermath, many blamed Aspinall for how the fight ended. The UFC heavyweight champion was heavily criticized online for allegedly playing up his injuries and quitting against Gane.

While the Englishman tried defending himself against the allegations, Muhammad believes he should "stop caring" about online opinions. In a YouTube video, the former welterweight champion said:

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"Tom Aspinall, you’re starting to feel what I felt. I’ve been there. Poked in the eye, wasn’t on you, the world and the fans are blaming you. Word of advice: Stop caring! Stop caring what these people are saying, stop trying to prove yourself. Because even with the proof that you’re showing of going to the doctor, showing you getting your eyes checked, a lot of doctors are saying, 'Oh, it was nothing, you’ll be fine,' so it’s not really helping the case."

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Ex-UFC champion defends controversial take on Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane eye poke incident

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling recently doubled down on his comments about how Tom Aspinall should've handled the eye poke situation at UFC 321 differently.

In the aftermath of the event, Sterling opined that Aspinall should not have complained about not being able to see immediately after and should have waited for the five-minute window to pass.

After the former UFC champion received considerable flak online for his comments, he shared a video explaining his stance via social media. Doubling down on his comments (via @Home_of_Fight on X), Sterling said:

"I made some comments on the Aspinall fight and how he handled the situation of the foul, and I think my opinion still stands. The fact still remains, when Tommy got poked in the eye, the first thing he said was, 'I cannot see.' We all know that when you are fouled, you cannot say those words; otherwise, the referee is inclined to stop the fight. That's just the way the rules are made. Don't be mad at me. With that said, I think he should've handled the situation differently."

He continued:

"I don't know how badly hurt he was. I never questioned Tommy's integrity."

Edited by Nishant Zende.