Tom Aspinall has offered a positive update on his recovery from double eye surgery, stating that he expects to be “cleared for contact” soon. The British heavyweight last fought in October, when his first defence of the UFC heavyweight title ended in a no-contest after multiple eye pokes from Ciryl Gane.
Aspinnall, 33, underwent surgery to address the damage and has been sidelined ever since. He revealed on his YouTube channel that recent scans show “things are progressing f***ing nicely,” adding that he is back in the gym training, though he has not yet resumed sparring.
With Gane set to face Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight title at an unprecedented event at the White House in June, Aspinall confirmed that the UFC has told him he will fight the winner of that bout. “The obvious answer is the other two guys have to fight for the interim title. I’m obviously going to fight the winner,” he said.
Aspinnall, whose overall record stands at 15-3 (with one no-contest) and whose UFC record is 8-1 (one no-contest), has finished every one of his wins inside the distance, with 14 in the first round and one in the second. His only loss in the UFC came via injury in 2022, which he avenged by knocking out Curtis Blaydes in 2024.
He stressed that he must first prioritise his health, but expects clearance imminently. “No specific month. I’m waiting to get clearance, which is going to be coming soon,” he said. “Those two have got to fight each other. Let them do the thing first, recover from that, and then when everybody’s ready, we’ll do it.”
