Tom Aspinall told to wait ‘couple of months’ before preparing for UFC return in update on eye health

Tom Aspinall is still waiting to get the all-clear for contact training ahead of his UFC return.

The UFC heavyweight champion fought Ciryl Gane to a no-contest in his last fight and first undisputed title defence after being brutally poked in both eyes.

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Two of Gane’s fingers went straight into the Englishman’s eyes, leaving him temporarily blinded while giving referee Jason Herzog no choice but to stop the fight.

Aspinall has since been diagnosed with a rare eye condition, bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome, and labelled Gane a ‘cheat,’ all part of a journey that has completely reshaped his approach to the fight game.

But the champion has slowly been progressing back to full fitness.

He revealed earlier this month that he will face the winner of Gane’s interim heavyweight title fight against Alex Pereira at UFC White House next.

The 33-year-old also said in the same update that he expected to be cleared for contact training soon, but this week, he has admitted there is now a slight delay.

Aspinall’s eye health latest

“I’ve just had my recent scan,” Aspinall explained on Fight Your Corner.

“I thought I was going to get cleared, actually, to spar and fight straight away, but they’ve actually given me another couple of months.

“I’m just waiting for the—because the cells in your eyes take a little bit longer to heal.

“So, as soon as they’re healed, I should be good to go.”

On his feelings towards Gane, Aspinall continued: “I have spoken about it a lot, but I’m going to leave the proper details until after I’ve retired.

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“Because at this point it’s just like we’re going over the same s***.

“I’ve spoken about it enough; people don’t want to hear about me complaining about my eye anymore.”

Although Gane has apologised to Aspinall and fans for the way their main event ended, the Frenchman hasn’t been quite so remorseful.

Gane was asked earlier this month if he had been working on keeping his hands closed ahead of his fight with Pereira.

But the heavyweight laughed it off, essentially saying those kinds of injuries are part and parcel of the fight game.

Calls have strengthened for the UFC to change its gloves to stop eye pokes or offer stricter penalties, such as an immediate one-point deduction for a first offence.

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Aspinall was sidelined for 15 months before fighting Gane, having waited for former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones to decide on his future, so it’s hard to tell how he will look upon his return.

But there’s no doubt the Atherton native is doing all he can to get back in the UFC as soon as he can.

He has predicted Gane to beat Pereira by decision on June 14, which would set up a monumental rematch between the pair, hopefully, by the end of the year.