Aspinall has not been seen in action since being double poked in the eye by Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October 2025. The defending champion recently underwent surgery in an attempt to correct vision problems that stemmed from the accidental mistake that led to a no-contest.
Some fans online have slammed Aspinall, believing he is milking the eye problems despite having to undergo a procedure. Volkanovski believes the criticism was extreme and he accepted his own YouTube channel insert (via MMA Junkie).
“I think everyone is pretty hard on him,” Volkanovski said. “Eye things can cause quite a few problems with you. A lot of people expect your eye to fall out. Simple retinal tears and things like that can be a big problem. During my first fight with Diego Lopes, there were a few things going on. To be honest, I still have things in my eyes because of it.
“I’m lucky that it’s not too serious, but things still happen in my eye because of it. The knuckle went into the eye, there wasn’t much in it. This stuff can confuse you. I still see flashes on the sides of my eyes. I’m giving you too much information here, but I still see flashes all the time. A lot of people say, ‘Ah, it’s not falling out, you can see again, it’s fine.’ That is not the case. You may have problems and you may be one blow away from losing your vision.”
There is no word on when Aspinall will be ready to return or if the surgery will lead to a full recovery. Alex Pereira recently vacated the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, and now speculation is rife about “Poatan” potentially challenging for the heavyweight gold. The question is: will Pereira meet Aspinall in the Octagon?
Are you one of Tom Aspinall’s critics or do you think the criticism is unjustified? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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