Brendan Schaub defended Tom Aspinall from critics questioning his decision to stop fighting after Ciryl Gane’s accidental eye pokes at UFC 321. The former UFC heavyweight called the narrative that Aspinall wanted a way out “ridiculous” and said those making the claim had never been inside the cage.Schaub argued that the real issue lies not with the gloves but with the lack of strict penalties for fouls. He said fighters continue to risk illegal actions like fence grabs, groin shots, and eye pokes because the punishments are minimal.He also took issue with Chael Sonnen and Anthony Smith for fueling what he sees as a damaging narrative on major platforms. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Schaub said:“The whole narrative on oh Tom wanted out, he was losing the fight, he found a way out. Shut the f*ck up. It’s such a casual take. You’re talking about the guy that fought Sergei Pavlovich, this scary Russian dude, and stared him down in his hometown. You’re telling me that guy was looking for a way out? Anyone who’s saying that is not made of the same DNA as Tom Aspinall.”He posted a clip of the video on X and captioned the post:"Please stop the terrible narrative that Tom Aspinal didn’t wanna fight and quit after getting poked in not only one eye but BOTH."Check out the X post below:Sean O’Malley talks from experience while defending Tom Aspinall after UFC 321 chaosSean O’Malley recently said that people questioning Tom Aspinall’s toughness were out of touch. He drew from his own experience, saying he’s been poked before and knows how it feels when your vision suddenly goes blurry.He said that the moment brings panic and confusion, and you can’t tell if your eye will recover. O’Malley believes Aspinall made the only smart call and expects the Brit to silence critics once he’s fully cleared.Speaking on his YouTube channel, O'Malley said:“I’ve been poked in the eye before. Not in a fight, but in practice, been poked in the eye. Boom! Whoa! I’m done. I’m not going to continue to practice. Obviously, you can’t see, it’s uncomfortable, it hurts, it’s scary. You don’t know if it’s going to come back. You don’t know if you’re going to be able to see it again. That really is a possibility, you get poked in the eye and you can’t see ever again, let alone now you’re trying to fight this guy who’s a massive elite athlete who’s been popping you with a freaking jab. Now you have one eye because of an illegal strike. It’s unfortunate, but you just can’t question Tom’s toughness on that."