By Chalien Dantes

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall will undergo surgery to fix a troubling eye injury suffered during his title fight with Ciryl Gane.

The 32-year-old Briton was poked in both eyes in the opening round of the UFC 321 main event in Abu Dhabi in October, forcing the contest to be stopped after a lengthy pause. Aspinall, making the first defence of his belt, was unable to continue, and the bout was declared a no-contest.

Doctors later diagnosed him with traumatic bilateral Brown’s syndrome and ongoing double vision, issues that have refused to settle with time.

Aspinall has now decided to have surgery on his right eye after weeks of careful monitoring, with specialists initially hoping the damage would heal on its own.

The injury has kept him on the sidelines for months and will extend his absence further, with no clear return date. Referee Jason Herzog ruled the eye poke accidental, although Aspinall says he was caught in the eye three times during the brief fight, which lasted just over four minutes.

Aspinall has competed only twice since stopping Sergei Pavlovich to claim the interim heavyweight title in November 2023, and the setback adds another frustrating pause to a career that had been gathering momentum at the very top of the division.