UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has lifted the lid on the horrific eye injury that brought his UFC 321 title defence to a shocking halt — and promises revenge on “cheater” Ciryl Gane.
The 32-year-old retained his heavyweight strap against Gane on October 25 after the bout was ruled a no-contest when the Brit sustained a devastating double eye poke in the first round.
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Aspinall released a grim update on Sunday evening, in which he revealed that he’s been in and out of hospital since the bout and still hasn’t been cleared to return to training.
He also took the chance to call Gane “a big cheater,” and accused the French star of purposely targeting his eyes.
“When it happened initially, I didn’t really think much of it,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel.
“I thought it was an accidental eye poke. When I watch the fight back, that’s when I really got the gist of what’s going on.
“The guy was trying to f**king poke my eyes out all the way through that round. Multiple exchanges, nearly every exchange I could have put him in danger, he had his fingers out, pointing towards my eyes.
“The guy was cheating from the first second. The way that he wanted to win that fight was to have me compromised by cheating.”
Aspinall also indicated that he wasn’t happy with UFC boss Dana White’s comments following the incident, in which White stated “Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight.”
“I didn’t continue and I’ll tell you why,” Aspinall said.
“Because I’m not a f**king dummy. I’m not going to go out there and fight one of the best strikers in the world when I can’t see with one eye. I know, as an MMA fighter, things are going to happen in a fight that compromises you.
“If it’s a legal move, you have to fight through it. That’s what we do as a fighter. But if it’s illegal, why am I going to put my health at risk when I can’t see at all?”
When asked what he thought of White’s comments, the embattled heavyweight was blunt.
“Well, what do you think?” Aspinall said.
White has indicated that the Aspinall-Gane fight will be rebooked as soon as can be arranged, but right now the Brit says he is just concentrating on his health.
“I think right now, we’ve got to focus on the path back to normal and following doctors’ orders,” Aspinall said.
“That’s all I can control right now. We’ll cross the bridge [competing in the UFC] when I’m feeling better and everything is right.
“If you were sidelined from doing your job for 15 months [due Jones situation], not allowed to do anything, then train your ass off for six months for a fight to get double eye-poked and left with no vision for nearly six weeks because of an illegal move, how do you think I feel? I’m not feeling fantastic, am I?”
In a separate post to Instagram, Aspinall posted a message to fight fans and his French rival.
“Thanks for all the love, support & memes, the hate. Coming to get my revenge on the big cheater,” Aspinall wrote.
Aspinall also released medical documents detailing his injury, showing he is suffering from Brown’s syndrome – a rare eye disorder.
“Following a bilateral eye-poke injury sustained during a UFC fight in October 2025, the patient has been diagnosed with bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome, indicating significant disruption to the superior oblique tendon-trochlear complex. Clinically, he presents with:
Persistent diplopia in multiple gaze positions, including lateral gaze and upgaze.
Blurred vision and photophobia following the trauma.
Marked restriction of elevation in adduction in both eyes, confirmed on orthoptic assessment.
Reduction in visual acuity bilaterally.
Severe bilateral visual field depression on Humphrey visual field testing.Imaging and investigations demonstrated:
Findings requiring continued monitoring, with no definitive structural explanation identified for the degree of functional deficit.
CT imaging initially raised concern for a medial orbital wall abnormality.
MRI demonstrated no acute structural abnormality to account for motility impairment or visual symptoms.
Intraocular pressures and anterior segment findings did not identify the source of functional limitation.”
Aspinall copped heavy criticism from fans for his reaction to the eye poke at UFC 321 – and no sympathy from former champion Jon Jones.
“When Tom gets hurt, he’s like immediately incapacitated,” Jones said.
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“Immediately. It’s like you poke my eye, there was no like [trying to blink it out].
“I would have been the silliest looking cat on national TV [blinking my eyes] trying [to continue].”
Jones has since stated that he’d like to make a comeback against UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira at UFC’s planned White House event next year.