Tom Aspinall awaiting medical clearance after controversial fight
UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is still awaiting medical clearance to resume training. This is due to an illegal action, an eye poke inflicted by Ciryl Gane during their match on October 25th in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Aspinall (15-3) shared news through his social media on Sunday. He revealed the possibility of undergoing surgery to treat persistent symptoms stemming from the incident in his eye. Furthermore, he called Gane a “big cheater,” insinuating that the foul was intentional. The heavyweight title fight was declared “no result” due to Aspinall’s inability to continue, following the eye poke at the end of the first round.The English fighter also expressed his discontent with the post-fight comments of UFC CEO Dana White, who mentioned Aspinall’s nosebleed and stated that “Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight”.“When it initially happened, I didn’t think much of it. I thought it was an accidental poke in the eye. Watching the fight, I realized what was going on. The guy tried to take my eyes out the entire round. In multiple exchanges, almost every one where he could have put me in danger, he had his fingers extended, pointing at my eyes. The guy cheated from the first second. The way he wanted to win that fight was to have me compromised by cheating,” Aspinall stated.
Tom Aspinall
The UFC has expressed its intention to reschedule the Aspinall-Gane fight as soon as possible. Aspinall was also eager for the rematch, but is still unclear about the timeframe for his recovery. According to a medical summary shared on his social media, he is still suffering from double and blurred vision. The outcome of the fight was detrimental to everyone involved, as Aspinall’s career and the UFC heavyweight division were put on hold for a good part of 2025. Aspinall said: “I think right now, we have to focus on the road back to normal and follow the doctors’ instructions. That’s all I can control right now. We’ll cross the bridge [of my future with the UFC] when I feel better and everything is in order. If you were sidelined from your job for 15 months [due to the situation with Jones], unable to do anything, then train like crazy for six months for a fight and receive a double eye poke and be left without vision for almost six weeks due to an illegal action, how do you think I would feel? I don’t feel fantastic, do I?”.“I didn’t continue and I’ll tell you why. Because I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to go out and fight one of the best strikers in the world when I can’t see out of one eye. I know, as an MMA fighter, that things will happen in a fight that will compromise you. If it’s a legal move, you have to fight through it. That’s what we do as fighters. But if it’s illegal, why am I going to risk my health when I can’t see anything?”, he added.
Tom Aspinall
