Tom Aspinall winces in the cage [Getty Images]
Tom Aspinall winces in the cage [Getty Images]

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, on the verge of his return to the octagon, has opened up about the harrowing experience of undergoing eye surgery while fully conscious.

Aspinall became the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion last year after Jon Jones announced his retirement. Widely regarded as one of the sport's toughest competitors, he said this was an ordeal unlike anything he had faced before.

Aspinall defended his title for the first time against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October 2025. During the fight, Gane's finger accidentally entered his eye, leaving Aspinall with vision loss and double vision and ultimately requiring surgery.

Appearing on the Great Company podcast recently, he recalled the ordeal in vivid detail, revealing he had undergone three separate surgeries as a result of the eye-poke injury.

"The doctors were coming at me with scalpels and knives, and I could see them cutting into my eyeball," he said. "I was just lying there thinking, 'What is happening right now?' It was absolutely horrific. I never want to go through that again."

Aspinall had surgery on both eyes in February to repair damaged eye muscles caused by bilateral traumatic Brown syndrome.

Before the operations, he said he struggled to perceive movement properly, making even routine activities like playing with his children difficult. He also had to apply eye drops 32 times a day to keep his eyes moist and endured recurring dark spots in his field of vision.

He now appears to have made a full recovery. He was recently spotted training at the gym without protective eyewear.

Aspinall said last month that he had resumed normal training ahead of a rematch with Gane and that he was in negotiations with the UFC over scheduling.

Meanwhile, Gane secured his claim to a unification bout by defeating Alex Pereira to claim the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250, a White House-hosted event, in June.

Gane has since said he hopes to face Aspinall in a unification bout in Paris in September, and Aspinall has agreed. UFC 333, tentatively scheduled for November, is currently the most likely event being discussed. However, talks between the two sides remain verbal only, and the UFC has yet to make any official announcement on scheduling.


yjc@heraldcorp.com