MMA news: Tom Aspinall reveals extent of brutal eye injury sustained against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321
During the first defence of his undisputed UFC heavyweight title at UFC 321 in October, Tom Aspinall was on the receiving end of an eye poke from Ciryl Gane that ultimately led to the bout being ruled a no-contest.
With Jon Jones finally out of the equation after holding up the heavyweight division for so long, MMA fans were excited to see Aspinall be the active title holder that the sport needed.
However, the Englishman’s first defence as undisputed champion didn’t go to plan as a foul from Gane ended the contest prematurely with under a minute left of the opening round.
Just as the fight was heating up, it was over, and now Aspinall has done his first live interview since the fight, where the 32-year-old revealed the full extent of his injuries.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Niall Togher takes a look at what Aspinall had to say.
Aspinall may need surgery on both eyes before return
For some reason, certain MMA fans and even Jones himself felt as though Aspinall was exaggerating his injuries and looking for a way out against Gane.
However, his latest comments on The Ariel Helwani Show put all this speculation firmly to bed.
Aspinall revealed that, as of now, he has not been given a potential timeline for making his return and his eyes have still not fully healed, despite being poked over a month ago now.
“I want to get back as soon as possible, that’s the plan,” Aspinall said.
“They [the doctors] don’t really know when I’m going to be back at the moment. I’m still not even cleared to train or do anything.
“They’re talking about doing surgery on both eyes. I have to get an injection in the eyeball soon.”
Before his fight at UFC 321 ended inconclusively, Aspinall’s last proper outing was all the way back in July 2024 against Curtis Blaydes.
With Jones refusing to fight Aspinall before retiring and now the Englishman being injured as a result of Gane’s foul, one of the most talented heavyweights in MMA history has had his career put on hold once again due to circumstances out of his control.
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Gane does not deserve an immediate rematch with Aspinall
Naturally, due to the inconclusive nature of their first meeting, a rematch is expected to be booked between Gane and Aspinall for the heavyweight title when Aspinall is cleared to compete.
However, this does not mean it is the correct decision.
Gane should not be awarded another title shot off the back of such a blatant foul that caused the contest to end early.
Before UFC 321, the Frenchman was 2-1 in his last three fights, but his most recent win over Alexander Volkov was an extremely controversial decision that most felt he lost.
Eye pokes ruin multiple UFC fights every year, and the promotion cannot continue to reward the perpetrators, in this case Gane, with another shot at UFC gold.
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