Tom Aspinall was elevated to UFC Heavyweight Champion early this past summer in the wake of Jon Jones optioning to retire from the sport of MMA. At the time of Jones’ retirement, Aspinall (15-3, 1 NC MMA, 8-1, 1 NC UFC) had already defended the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship once.
A July 27, 2024 first-round knockout victory due to a counter jab followed by ground and pound strikes turned out to be Aspinall’s one and only defense of the interim title at 265 lbs. From there, he was out of action for north of 15 months.
Tom Aspinall’s initial defense of the UFC Heavyweight Championship was set for the Saturday before Halloween in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates as the headlining bout of UFC 321. While the contest was scheduled for five rounds at five minutes per round, it took less than one round for the defense of the belt versus Ciryl Gane (13-2, 1 NC, 10-2, 1 NC UFC) to come unraveled.
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An inadvertent foul due to an eye poke ended the contest with 25 seconds to go in the opening period. Upon Aspinall using up his allotted five-minute medical timeout, he could no longer continue in the fight, rendering a no-contest. By virtue of the champion’s advantage, Tom Aspinall retained the heavyweight title.
Tom Aspinall Takes to YouTube to Provide Important Medical Update
It’s been more than two months since that unfortunate no-contest, and Aspinall’s vision issues have persisted long after the final bell. As 2025 winds down, the heavyweight champion has been keeping his fans updated on his recovery.
Earlier on in the month, Aspinall posted on YouTube that he’d eventually like to turn his attention to the sweet science of boxing once his time in MMA comes to a conclusion.
On Sunday, the champ returned to YouTube to provide some promising news in his recovery during a tutorial on footwork. He promised a rematch with Gane when he’s medically cleared.
“That’s the plan,” Tom Aspinall began. “By the time this is going out, I’ll probably have had surgery on one side already. Next surgery is coming [in] mid-January, so we’re working toward getting back [to fights].”
UFC CEO Dana White Aiming for Eventual Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane Reschedule
In the aftermath of the Oct. 25 no-contest for the heavyweight championship, UFC CEO Dana White promised the assembled media backstage at Etihad Arena and those watching at home that a rematch between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane would be on the UFC’s 2026 schedule once the champ is medically cleared to resume training.
“Looked like we were in for a few rounds and it was going to be a good fight,” White said of the chain of events leading up to the accidental eye poke that caused the no-contest in October. “Total pain in the ass, but yes, [we’ll reschedule the fight].”
Still, though, Tom Aspinall is looking at a few additional months of hiatus before he can get back to the sport of MMA. More than a month after the heavyweight championship fight took place, he revealed that he had experienced bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome, which causes difficulty with the patient’s movement of the eye.
According to the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, cases of bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome can cause patients to experience double vision. Bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome can be experienced in either or both of the patient’s eyes.
No Exact Date Targeted for Tom Aspinall’s Return
With a surgery date set for next month, fans are now left to wonder when Tom Aspinall might be able to resume training for his UFC Heavyweight Championship rematch against Ciryl Gane. As per the London Squint Clinic, his recovery from bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome and subsequent surgeries will take around three months with patients permitted to resume usual tasks not long afterward.
Aspinall will also need to visit the optometrists’ office for regular check-ups to ensure his prognosis stays positive. It’ll still be a few months before Aspinall can return to the gym to train for an eventual rematch versus Gane.
Final Thoughts
Even if this fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane gets pushed back to the second half of 2026, when it does happen, it’ll no doubt be worth the wait. Think about it: The promos for this rematch practically write themselves.
A championship rematch is and always will be an exciting contest, but when you have the circumstances that you will once Tom Aspinall is medically cleared to start preparing for the fight, the storylines will be all the juicier. Aspinall wants a definitive end to this chapter of his career with a clean win and Gane wants revenge. When the fight is rebooked, it’ll be one you don’t want to miss.
