Tom Aspinall has shared an update on his condition following the unfortunate eye poke that ended his UFC 321 title defense against Ciryl Gane.
The British heavyweight champion was returning to the Octagon for the first time since July 2024, looking to make a statement in his first title defense. However, the highly anticipated bout came to a shocking halt in the first round when Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in both eyes. The fight was ruled a no-contest after just four minutes and thirty-five seconds.
Inside the cage, a furious Aspinall voiced his frustration to the crowd after the incident.
“I just got poked knuckle deep in the eyeball,” he said as fans reacted with mixed emotions. “Why are you booing? I can hardly open my eye. Look, it was a double eye poke.”
Aspinall was later seen leaving the arena with his right eye covered and was immediately taken to a local hospital in Abu Dhabi for tests and an initial medical assessment. The 32-year-old later posted a 47-minute fight-day vlog on his YouTube channel, capturing everything from his pre-fight prep to the post-fight hospital visit.
In the video, Tom Aspinall revealed that the experience was “way scarier” than his past knee injury.
“With my knee, I knew it was going to be alright. I still don’t know how this is going to be,” he said. “We’re waiting for more results and have to do further tests in the UK. Flying back today, and we’ll go from there. Thank you for all the support.”
Footage from the vlog showed the extent of the injury, including moments when doctors applied eye drops to treat his retina. Aspinall mentioned that he was experiencing blurred vision in his right eye but was later told by the medical team that they found “nothing dangerous.”
“You should stop the fight until you are good again and cleared from our side,” one doctor told him. “Not after this visit, after the second one, after making sure everything is coming back to normal with the vision.”
While the update brought some relief, Aspinall’s father expressed deep concern over the incident. “It’s a horrendous thing to think as a parent,” he said. “When it’s your son, and they could lose an eye… something needs to be done about it. It’s horrendous to look at.”
UFC CEO Dana White also weighed in after the event, confirming that a rematch between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane is already in the works.
“It’s unfortunate it ended the way it did,” White said. “But yeah, I think the rematch makes sense and there’ll be even more interest in it now.”
As Aspinall returns home to continue his recovery and undergo further tests, fans remain hopeful that the champion will make a full recovery and step back into the Octagon soon.
