Is Daniel Pineda OK? Andre Fili's accidental eye poke ends UFC Vegas 30 bout

Andre Fili seemed to have victory in his sight during the UFC Vegas 30 until an eye poke rendered the fight a no contest. For five minutes, Andre Fili seemed to have victory in the bag, but then an accidental eye poke led Pineda to fail two vision checks by the referee.
Pineda couldn't guess the number of fingers held up by the referee, leading to Referee Herb Dean stopping the bout and ruling a no contest. Not surprisingly, Fili was rather frustrated, to say the least. “I put everything I had into this,” Fili said afterward. “I feel like I did everything right, except for this one stupid slip.” If you're a fan of the UFC we're hoping you didn't miss Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov's face off.
READ MORE
Who is Yana Kunitskaya dating? UFC fighter became mom before finding true love
After Pineda tweeted, "F*ck!!! this is not the way to go out, I told the doctor I was ready to go, sorry @TouchyFili . You were getting me in this one, but let’s do it again soon. @ufc @seanshelby @Mickmaynard2"
F*ck!!! this is not the way to go out, I told the doctor I was ready to go, sorry @TouchyFili . You were getting me in this one, but let’s do it again soon. @ufc @seanshelby @Mickmaynard2
— Daniel Pineda (@DanielPitPineda) June 26, 2021
Andre Fili on Twitter apologized to Pineda tweeting, "Sorry about the slip. Would never do it intentionally. Respect you trying to push through it. Let’s run it back. I’m here for it."
Sorry about the slip. Would never do it intentionally. Respect you trying to push through it. Let’s run it back. I’m here for it. https://t.co/UoKMfM8y0X
— Andre Fili (@TouchyFili) June 26, 2021
Fili also added in a further tweet, "I still don’t know why the doc didn’t let him have his full 5 min. Either way. Love ya’ll. Thanks for rockin with me. I’ll be back again soon, better and better."
I still don’t know why the doc didn’t let him have his full 5 min. Either way. Love ya’ll. Thanks for rockin with me. I’ll be back again soon, better and better.
— Andre Fili (@TouchyFili) June 26, 2021
Just like Fili and Pineda, fans just like Fili and Pine were disappointed at this damp squib of a fight. One fan tweeted, "How many more eye poke no contests will it take for some new fucking gloves? #UFCVegas30"
How many more eye poke no contests will it take for some new fucking gloves? #UFCVegas30
— Happy Whittaker 🏅🎯 (@IllAnklePickYou) June 26, 2021
Another fan tweeted, "Fuck a heartbreak. Have you ever been super into a fight and it gets called due to an accidental eye poke!?!"
Fuck a heartbreak. Have you ever been super into a fight and it gets called due to an accidental eye poke!?!#UFCVegas30 pic.twitter.com/idyojZZdgw
— 🇲🇽Moreno Stan 4 Life 🇲🇽 (@YayoTheCaveman) June 26, 2021
Other fans bemoaned the premature end of a superb fight tweeting, "Unfortunate end to an absolute banger. Fight is called off after Pineda suffered a bad eye poke. Begged to keep going. Fili looked sharp as hell. Run it back? #UFCVegas30"
Unfortunate end to an absolute banger. Fight is called off after Pineda suffered a bad eye poke. Begged to keep going. Fili looked sharp as hell. Run it back? #UFCVegas30
— MMA On Point (@OnPointMMA) June 26, 2021
Since Pineda tweeted that he was in fact ready to go, we're hoping that his eye will soon be well on the road to recovery and that fans will get an eyeful of a fight soon enough. UFC Vegas 30 took place on Saturday, June 26, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.