Tom Aspinall (15-3, 1 NC MMA, 8-3, 1 NC UFC) will be out of competition since before Halloween. After being elevated to permanent UFC heavyweight champion in the wake of Jon Jones’ retirement in June 2025, Aspinall’s first defense of the title was scheduled for October 25.
In the main event of UFC 321 from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tom Aspinall fought Ciryl Gane (13-2, 1 NC MMA, 10-2, 1 NC UFC) in a five-round, five-minute bout to close out the evening’s activities. Everything was unfortunately undone in the final minute of the opening round of the main event.
With just seconds left, Tom Aspinall got an eye poke. The rules state that a fighter who has accidentally made a mistake during a match will be given up to five minutes of medical timeout to try to recover.
Tom Aspinall’s first defense ends ingloriously
When the mandatory five-minute clock expired for Aspinall’s medical timeout, his vision was still affected and he could no longer continue in the match, forcing referee Jason Herzog to stop the fight. This was the first no-contest for both fighters.
At the post-fight press conference of UFC 321, UFC CEO Dana White said promised that Aspinall and Gane would compete again for the former’s title once Aspinall was medically cleared.
“I think after the [Jon] Jones fights, a lot of people have written off Ciryl Gane,” White began. “He looked damn good tonight.”
White said that before Tom Aspinall got the eye poke, his fight with Gane had the potential to go deep, before acknowledging that the rebooking process was a “total pain in the ass”.
In the weeks and months following Aspinall’s eye poke, the champion had provided updates on his prognosis and recovery. At the end of last year he said he would have surgery in mid-January.
Tom Aspinall undergoes eye surgery
Earlier Tuesday, the heavyweight champion’s fan base received another update on Tom Aspinall’s eye health. Another stop on the road to recovery has been cleared.
Optegra Eye Health Care, a UK-based optometry service, treated Tom Aspinall during his eye poke recovery in Abu Dhabi in October. Their Instagram account posted about Aspinall receiving care late this afternoon.
“Over the past few months we have worked closely with him on his recovery,” Optegra Eye Health Care said in a statement on Tuesday. “After his surgery on both eyes, we continue the journey to get Tom’s vision back in shape.”
Aspinall’s surgery means he is much closer to returning to competition in the legendary Octagon. No exact timetable has been set for a return date, but this is promising news, especially for Tom Aspinall’s camp.
Final Thoughts: Aspinall vs. Gane II wouldn’t need any more hype once the date is booked
While a number of high-profile sporting events, like last weekend’s Super Bowl or this weekend’s Daytona 500, were and are subject to marathon hype and conjecture once the match or field is confirmed, a rematch between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane won’t need any more hype than what will already be built in. MMA fans already know the story.
They will also know the stakes for this match. Two fighters, one looking for a definitive defense of his belt in Tom Aspinall, the other looking for revenge in Ciryl Gane, will battle for supremacy at 265.
This is the kind of bulletin board material that practically writes itself, something for which the UFC’s promotional department will be very grateful. No matter when the fight is rebooked, it will undoubtedly be 25 minutes (or less) of action.
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