Tom Aspinall has vacated his UFC heavyweight title because of ongoing complications with his eyes, nearly a year after a fight-ending injury derailed his last title defence.
The Englishman announced the decision on Instagram, writing that he was 'absolutely gutted' and had 'chased this dream since I was 10 years old.' He said stepping away from the title did not mean stepping away from the sport, and that he would keep doing everything he could to get healthy, get cleared and return to competing as soon as possible.
Aspinall last fought in October last year, when his title defence against fellow heavyweight Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest after repeated eye pokes left him unable to see properly. He was subsequently diagnosed with a rare condition called Brown's syndrome in both eyes and has undergone multiple surgeries since, but he still has not been cleared to compete.
What Aspinall said
In his statement, Aspinall explained that ongoing complications with his eyes meant he could not get medically cleared to fight right now. He said he had had multiple surgeries, accidents and infections, and had done everything possible to try to get back to competing.
He revealed that he had previously agreed to a fight date and was back sparring, feeling great and ready to compete, when an accident caused further damage to his right eye. That setback means more time away from the sport, and he said the timing of his return is currently unclear.
Aspinall said what makes the situation particularly difficult is that many of the complications he is dealing with stem from fouls that changed the course of his career. He said fighters rely on officials to enforce the rules and protect them in those moments, and that it is hard to still be dealing with the consequences today.
Why he chose to vacate now
Aspinall said he had asked the UFC to let him make the statement because he did not want to hold up the heavyweight division. He said he knew what it was like to have a career put on hold, and wanted other fighters to have the opportunity to compete for the title.
Aspinall returned to training in June with a view to fighting Gane again in September, and as recently as August he had rebuffed suggestions that he might leave the UFC altogether. The vacancy announcement means that fight, and any immediate return, will now have to wait.
The eye poke at UFC 321
The injury that has now cost Aspinall his title occurred during his heavyweight title fight with Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi. Four minutes into the first round, as Aspinall attempted a kick, Gane threw a punch and inadvertently raked his fingers across his opponent's eyes. A five-minute timeout followed and the ringside doctor examined him.
Aspinall was seen telling the doctor, "I can't see," while the doctor told the referee he had "no immediate concerns about the globe." After four of the five allocated minutes had passed, the fight was waved off as a no-contest, an anticlimactic finish to the main event that saw Aspinall rushed to hospital.
"All that training for that," Aspinall said afterwards. "What the f*** is he doing? He got warned twice before it. Twice before it he got warned for it and he f***ing did it again."
Gane denied any intent behind the eye poke. "I didn't do it on purpose. I know what it's like to have an eye poke, because when I fought Derrick Lewis, I got an eye poke and I was seeing two of Derrick Lewis for a full round," he said. "During a bit of the round and the rest of the round, I saw two of Derrick Lewis. So I'm not going to say he's a liar."
Aspinall, sat with his eye strapped up after the fight, described the pain in detail. "I could feel how deep it was in my eye," he said. "It feels like the back of my eyeball is hurting. It feels like someone's touched the back of my eyeball."
