Eye pokes are the worst. They are sudden, painful, and they can ruin a perfectly good fight. When they happen in a title bout, things get even messier. Fans get angry, critics start talking, and suddenly the fighter who got poked becomes the bad guy. It’s weird, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Tom Aspinall found himself in this exact situation after UFC 321, where a nasty eye poke from Ciryl Gane ended his heavyweight title defense with a NC in the first round. The backlash came fast and hard, with people questioning whether he should have continued.<\/p>
Belal Muhammad, the former welterweight champion knows this pain all too well. He has been through the same ordeal, faced the same criticism, and lived to tell the tale. Now he’s reaching out to Aspinall with some straightforward advice. He’s speaking from experience, having dealt with one of the most infamous eye pokes in recent UFC<\/a> history. <\/p> Speaking on his YouTube channel, Muhammad delivered some real talk to Aspinall. He told the heavyweight champ to stop trying to prove himself to everyone. Aspinall has been posting updates, showing doctor visits, and documenting his eye injury on social media. He’s trying to show people he wasn’t faking it. Muhammad says that’s a waste of time. Even with all the proof in the world, people will still doubt you. They’ll still say you quit or took the easy way out.<\/p> “Tom, you just gotta stop caring. Stop caring what they’re thinking, stop caring what they’re saying, just embrace the boos…Welcome. I open up the door for you, bro. Come chill with me. We’ll sit over here, we’ll take these boos, but we’re gonna win. Same way I used it as fuel, you use that as fuel. Next time you go in there with Ciryl, you felt his speed, you felt his power, now you gotta make him pay for everything you’re going through now.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>Belal Muhammad Sends A Comforting Message To Tom Aspinall <\/h2>