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Tom Aspinall is nearing a full recovery from his eye injury. Back in October, Aspinall made his first defense of the undisputed heavyweight title in a disastrous bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321. After an accidental eye poke late in the first round, Aspinall was unable to continue, and the fight was declared a no-contest.
Since then, the heavyweight champion has faced numerous eye issues that kept him sidelined, but his long road back to full health is now almost complete.
"We've just returned from the eye hospital, where I had a scan today, and things are progressing incredibly well, which makes me very happy," Aspinall stated in a YouTube video on Sunday. "They're saying that very soon, if things continue in the right direction, I'll be cleared for contact training. I'm back in the gym, training again, but not sparring yet. But if things keep going this way, we're back.""
Due to the lack of a clear timeline for his return, the UFC opted to create an interim heavyweight title during Aspinall's absence. Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane are set to compete for it in the co-main event of UFC White House. Given the recent positive news, Aspinall expects to face the winner of that bout upon his return.
"Everyone keeps asking me when I'm going to fight," Aspinall said. "The obvious answer is that the other two — Alex and Ciryl — need to fight for the interim title. I will obviously fight the winner. The UFC told me I'd fight the winner. So, first and foremost, I need to get my health right, which is moving in the right direction. I need to wait for that to happen, and then we fight the winner. It's that simple."
There's no specific month. I'm waiting to get cleared, which, as I was just told, will be soon. And the specific month depends on the UFC. Those two need to fight each other. Let them do their thing first. Let them recover afterward, and when everyone is ready, we'll make it happen."
And if he makes a successful return, Aspinall will not be short of new challengers. During his absence, the UFC heavyweight division has seen a surge of new talent like Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Josh Hockett, who have climbed the rankings. Once he's back, Aspinall is ready to take on all of them.
"I'm excited about all of it," Aspinall said. "I don't think I'm going to start avoiding people now. I've always accepted every fight they've offered me. So, I think it's exciting. If there are big names in the division that people are excited about, that's a good thing. I'll fight all of them. I'm happy to fight all of them. Anyone who deserves a shot, I'll fight them.""
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