"You got to push through that" - Chael Sonnen explains his stance after backlash, says he never accused Tom Aspinall of quitting

Chael Sonnen (left) explains stance on Tom Aspinall
Chael Sonnen (left) explains stance on Tom Aspinall's (right) eye-poke controversy. [Images courtesy: Getty Images]

Chael Sonnen recently addressed his comments on Tom Aspinall not being able to continue fighting at UFC 321 after getting poked in the eye and explained his stance.

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The Aspinall-Gane heavyweight title fight ended abruptly after the Frenchman illegally poked the Englishman in the eye in the opening round. Despite taking a breather, Aspinall couldn't see clearly, and the fight was ultimately declared a no-contest.

In the aftermath, Sonnen and Anthony Smith sparked widespread debate about the outcome of the fight by seemingly implying that Aspinall should've continued fighting during the UFC 321 post-event show. However, it appears Sonnen didn't mean that at all and recently cleared the air during an interview with Ariel Helwani. He said:

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"[Anthony Smith and I] did not think that Tom found a way out or was ducking out. What Anthony and I were speaking to is in the fight, one guy's trying to stop your breathing by breaking your nose, you've got to learn to push through that."

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He continued:

"One guy is trying to swell up your eye or cause some blood to get in there to affect your vision, you've got to push through that. That was the tone that we were speaking of, not that actual moment with Tom. We did not think that Tom found a way out or was ducking out."
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What did Chael Sonnen say about Tom Aspinall choosing not to continue fighting at UFC 321?

On the UFC 321 post-event show, Chael Sonnen and Anthony Smith discussed Ciryl Gane accidentally poking Tom Aspinall in the eye while questioning the Englishman's decision to end the fight.

Speaking about the no-contest result, Sonnen claimed that the heavyweight champion should fight with one eye "at times" and said:

"Being poked in the eye is illegal, but to fight with one eye is very common. Opponent is trying to hit your eye, trying to bust up to make your nose bleed, so that part of it does have questions for guys like Anthony [Smith] and me. We’re trying to be polite, we’re trying to show grace, but in all fairness, you’re the heavyweight champion of the world, you’ve got to fight with one eye at times." [H/t: MMA Fighting]

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Edited by Nishant Zende.
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