Tom Aspinall offers disappointing update regarding UFC return
Tom Aspinall's return to the octagon has faced yet another delay, as the UFC heavyweight champion has been told to dial back his expectations for how soon he can get back to fighting.
Tom Aspinall hasn't fought since Oct. 25 last year, when an accidental eye poke from Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 led to a no-contest in the Englishman's first undisputed heavyweight title defense. The eye poke caused a more serious health complication than many had expected and, unfortunately, a recent update from Aspinall revealed that he is still a ways away from sparring, let alone fighting.
Tom Aspinall has not yet been cleared to spar
In a recent appearance on the Fight Your Corner and The Stomping Ground podcast, Tom Aspinall joined former WBC heavyweight champion Tony Bellew in a conversation about a multitude of topics. Among the topics the pair covered was the crisis of eye-related injuries in MMA. After Bellew discussed how painful eye-related injuries can be, Aspinall was asked about his own experience. While the reigning UFC heavyweight champion proved hesitant to dive into too much detail, having previously done so to a mixed reception from MMA fans, he did reveal that he still hasn't been medically cleared to spar, saying the following (11:45):
"At the minute, I've just had my recent scan. I thought I was going to get cleared, actually, to spar and fight straight away, but they actually said they're giving me a couple of months, so I'm just waiting for the... cause the cells in your eyes take a little bit longer to heal, so as soon as they're healed, we should be good to go."
The eye pokes by Gane led to multiple eye surgeries for Aspinall, who had previously hoped to be an active champion. Unfortunately, the Gane fight left Aspinall suffering from bilateral traumatic Brown's syndrome, and he has no confirmed timeline for his return, despite previously offering a more positive update. It marked an unfortunate incident that halted the Englishman's momentum in the heavyweight division, as he was previously on a tear of three consecutive first-round knockouts over Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 224, Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 for the interim heavyweight title, and Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in a successful interim heavyweight title defense.
Regardless, Aspinall, who is now the UFC heavyweight champion, is expected to unify the division's belts upon his return, facing whoever emerges from UFC Freedom 250, with Alex Pereira and Gane fighting for the interim heavyweight title come June 14.
