UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall recently revealed new details about his eye injury, sparking concern among the MMA community. It doesn’t sound like Aspinall will have a quick turnaround, as he could be out of action longer than anticipated.
Aspinall suffered the eye injury during his heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October. Gane caught him with an accidental eye poke toward the end of the 1st round, which left him unable to see. The fight was ruled a no contest as a result, and Aspinall remained heavyweight champion.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Aspinall shared an update on his injury. He revealed that there is still no timetable for his return.
Aspinall said that he is still not cleared to train and might even have to undergo surgery. Depending on whether he does, there’s no telling how soon he could resume training and competition.
“Obviously, I want to get back as soon as possible. That’s the plan. But I’m also aware that with eyes you gotta be careful,” Aspinall said. “[Doctors are] talking about doing surgery on both eyes. I have to get an injection in the eyeball soon, so I’m not looking forward to that. So, yeah, I don’t really know [when I’ll be back].”
Tom Aspinall Blasts Critics After His Eye Injury
Tom Aspinall also unloaded on those who heavily criticized him after he suffered the eye injury at UFC 321. Many in the MMA community weighed in 0n the injury and accused Aspinall of faking.
That wasn’t the case, as the heavyweight champion appears to be feeling the effects of the eye poke. Despite the criticism, Aspinall said he understands it as part of being a professional athlete and fighter.
Aspinall questioned whether his critics saw the replay of the eye poke and the evidence he shared, blasting them for their accusations.
“People actually think that I was faking it. And then I was like, ‘Did people actually see the replay of what happened?’ Because that was full on eye poke,” Aspinall told The Ariel Helwani Show. “If you don’t believe the eye poke and you don’t believe the doctor’s report, like what are we doing? What’s going on here?”
He continued:
“You just cannot please these guys. These guys are [expletive] losers, man, these guys are just crazy haters who have nothing good going on in their life obviously.”
Aspinall Proposes Rule to Prevent Eye Pokes
Aspinall didn’t take the criticism lightly and proposed a rule that he believes would prevent eye pokes from remaining prevalent in the UFC.
The reigning heavyweight champion said that if a fighter is fouled with an eye poke, they should be granted a free foul on their opponent. Aspinall says that a reciprocal foul could discourage fighters from keeping their fingers pointed out during a fight.
“In my case, double eye gouge was what happened to me. So if you want the fight to carry on fairly, I get a free foul on [Gane],” Aspinall told The Ariel Helwani Show. “I’ll double eye gouge him back. [It’s tough to pull of], so is continuing when you’ve got no eyesight.”
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