UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has publicly backed heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall amid online claims he faked the eye injury that ended his UFC 321 title defense against Ciryl Gane. Speaking to Brazilian athlete Valter Walker, Pereira rejected the idea that Aspinall could have caused such an injury, stressing that fighters do not play with their health.
Pereira said he was shocked when he saw images of Aspinall’s eyes after the operation. He described the sight as disturbing and emphasized how sensitive the eye area is for any athlete.
Was that eye injury legitimate? Alex Pereira stands at Tom Aspinall’s UFC 321 exit
The discussion then started again Aspinall shared updates on his double eye surgery, sparking renewed debate over whether the injury was legitimate. Aspinall’s first UFC heavyweight title defense was halted in the first round of UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi after Gane accidentally stabbed him in both eyes, leading to a no-contest ruling and allowing Aspinall to retain the title. Medical reports later revealed that he suffered from bilateral traumatic Brown syndrome, a rare eye condition affecting the tendon, and a possible displaced fracture of the medial orbital wall, which can impair vision and eye movements.
“Look, I’m not messing with my health, man. I look at it like the guy is a fighter, he’s not going to fake something like that. The guy is back now after the surgery. I saw the picture he posted, man, his eyes were all red. It even scared me a little. The eyes are really delicate, you know?”
Follow-up tests revealed that Aspinall was struggling with persistent double vision, limited eye movements and reduced visual acuity, problems so serious that his team of specialists has advised against returning to training until symptoms have stabilized. Orthoptic evaluations have documented impaired binocular coordination and visual field disturbances, suggestive of bilateral ocular trauma requiring ongoing consultant-led management rather than short-term repair. UFC matchmaker Dana White later downplayed the procedure, describing it as essentially an injection, but those comments have been weighed against the champion’s detailed medical documentation and public timeline of pain and dysfunction.
Pereira’s comments also contrast with the more critical tone of some fans and even former champions who felt Aspinall should have tried to continue after the referee stopped the action. Ciryl Gane’s fingers went deep into Aspinall’s eye socket on one of the jabs, and the Brit reported feeling as if someone had touched the back of his eyeball, with pain that intensified after the fight. Aspinall told reporters he could barely see out of his ‘good’ eye and needed immediate hospital care in Abu Dhabi, followed by additional scans in Britain.
By defending Aspinall, Pereira underlines the fighter’s perspective on risk and credibility. He noted that Aspinall came out of the closet octagon visibly uncomfortable, spoke honestly in post-fight interviews and was subsequently subjected to invasive medical procedures and lengthy recovery, which do not fit the idea of a staged injury. Given the documented condition, the need for multiple surgeries and the professional stakes of winning a UFC title, the narrative that Aspinall is exaggerating his problem is widely disputed by fans and medical reports alike.
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