As fans will know by now, Tom Aspinall is no longer the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. The Englishman took to social media to announce that he is vacating the title after another injury to his right eye during training has thrown his recovery timeline into limbo.
Aspinall hasn’t fought since October 2025, when his clash with Ciryl Gane was ruled a no-contest after a series of eye pokes. The Englishman revealed in his post that he had agreed to a fight date, but another injury involving his right eye during training means he will have to spend even more time on the sidelines.
Fans initially expected Aspinall to potentially face Gane in a title unification bout at UFC Paris, especially after the former champion revealed in June that he had returned to sparring and accepted the Frenchman’s verbal callout. However, Aspinall was instead expected to headline UFC 334 in November at the annual Madison Square Garden event.
According to a detailed report from Ariel Helwani, Aspinall was all set to make his return, but fate had other plans. With UFC 334 scheduled for November 14, a rematch with Gane would have been a blockbuster, especially after the Frenchman claimed the interim heavyweight title by beating Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250.
Tom was set for the Gane rematch at UFC 334 at MSG, but at the end of the day he could not get medically cleared.
His right eye was essentially sent back to square one after he was hit in training as he began preparing for the fight.
He began experiencing peripheral vision… pic.twitter.com/SHFss7gMIf
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 14, 2026
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More importantly, the condition of Aspinall’s right eye remains a major concern. The UFC has helped facilitate medical appointments throughout the process, but multiple surgeries have still not been enough to fully resolve the issue.
During a recent episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, the veteran reporter explained just how badly things went wrong during Aspinall’s latest training setback, saying, “He [was] preparing [for UFC 334], he’s sparring, he’s training. He gets hit. The eye starts to act up, and essentially, for all intents and purposes, the right eye goes back to square one. Now he can’t train, can’t see. Periphery, black spots. Mess of a situation.”
Helwani added that scans following the sparring incident were concerning enough for two different doctors to refuse to clear the Englishman.
He said, “[He] informs the UFC, chills for a month, goes in for a scan — scan was very bad. Results were not good. Goes in for another scan — UFC is aware of all of this; they’re even helping to facilitate the appointments and whatnot. Doctor refuses to clear him, says, ‘You are not 100%; that eye is in a very, very bad spot.’ [He] goes to get a second opinion relatively recently; the doctor says, ‘I cannot sign off on this. This right eye is a pretty big problem.’”
While Aspinall’s left eye is good to go, the cells in his right eye have yet to properly rejuvenate despite two surgeries. He explained, “The cells have to rejuvenate; they have to heal. Left eye is good, as I said. The right eye, which has had two surgeries on it at this point — a second one caused by the infection after it was scraped — needs to heal.”
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Helwani revealed that Aspinall’s current plan is to revisit his doctor in January 2027 for another assessment. The next four months will be crucial as he gives the eye time to heal without any sparring, scraping or further trauma.
However, if the eye does not recover as hoped, Aspinall could require another surgery, which would be his third on the right eye and fourth overall.
He revealed, “They’re now telling him that he needs to come back in January. That he just needs to wait; he needs to let the eye heal, rest up, don’t get hit, don’t get scraped, don’t have any issues — come back in January and hopefully that’s enough time for the cells to rejuvenate, regenerate and get back to 100%. If they don’t, that could mean a fourth surgery and a third on the right eye, which would obviously be devastating.”
There is still optimism that Aspinall could return in 2027, but nothing is guaranteed at this point. For now, though, the heavyweight division has already started moving forward, with Josh Hokit and Alex Pereira both calling for undisputed title bouts against interim champion Gane.
With Gane expected to be upgraded to undisputed champion, the focus will now shift to what comes next for the heavyweight division. But above everything else, fans will be hoping Aspinall can finally get his eye healthy and make a safe return to the Octagon.
Kshitiz Kumar Singh is a UFC Writer at NY Fights with over three years of experience in sports journalism and content creation. Known for his sharp storytelling and passion for combat sports, he has written in-depth features on stars like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Ilia Topuria. Before joining NY Fights, Kshitiz worked as a UFC Editor at EssentiallySports while currently serving as a WWE Editor at FirstSportz. His admiration for legends like Georges St-Pierre continues to inspire his detailed and engaging MMA coverage. Whether he’s covering the Octagon or the squared circle, Kshitiz is committed to delivering accurate, high-quality content. Outside the world of sports, he’s a dedicated cinephile, often found practicing monologues from his favorite Al Pacino films, combining his love for cinema with storytelling.
