Tom Aspinall vacates UFC heavyweight title after 323 days out of competition, the 33-year-old from Salford confirmed in a statement issued late on Sunday night and circulated on Monday by Matchroom Talent Agency, the outfit he signed with in March.
He has not fought since 25 October 2025, when his first defence as undisputed champion, against Gane at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, was ruled a no contest in the opening round after he was poked in both eyes and told the referee he could not see.
"Anything you read in the media is simply noise. People are creating their own narratives," Aspinall wrote. "This is the truth: Ongoing complications with my eyes mean I cannot get medically cleared to fight right now."
323 days, a February operation, and a sparring accident that reset everything
The detail that reframes the last ten months is buried in the middle of the statement: Aspinall had a fight booked.
"I had previously agreed to a fight date and was back sparring, feeling great and ready to compete when an accident caused further damage to my right eye," he wrote. "This means more time away from the sport, and right now, the timing of my return is unclear."
That is the first public confirmation that the comeback had progressed past rehabilitation and into contact training before collapsing again. Aspinall described the wider process as "multiple surgeries, accidents and infections" — not a single clean repair with a recovery window, but a sequence of setbacks.
The underlying diagnosis was significant traumatic bilateral Brown's syndrome, a condition that restricts eye movement and can cause pain or a clicking sensation when the affected eye is moved up and in. He underwent double eye surgery in February. In the immediate aftermath of UFC 321, his father Andy said Aspinall had roughly 50% vision in his left eye and could not see anything out of his right.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 25 Oct 2025 | UFC 321, Abu Dhabi — first undisputed defence against Gane ruled a no contest after a double eye poke |
| Dec 2025 | Aspinall confirms he is due to undergo multiple eye surgeries |
| Feb 2026 | Double eye surgery |
| Jun 2026 | Gane stops Alex Pereira in round two to win the interim heavyweight title |
| 13 Sep 2026 | Dana White says the champion's status will be addressed "soon" |
| 14 Sep 2026 | Aspinall announces he is vacating |
Dates compiled from Aspinall's public statements and UFC event records.
Tom Aspinall vacates UFC heavyweight title one day after White raised stripping it
The timing was not a coincidence. Speaking at the Zuffa Boxing post-fight press conference on Saturday, UFC CEO Dana White was asked about the champion's status and said the promotion would address it.
"We'll definitely be talking about that," White said. "Valentina doesn't want to tie up the division, and I'm assuming Tom feels the same way. I don't know personally where he is health-wise with everything, but we should clear that up soon."
The reference point was Valentina Shevchenko, who had given up the women's flyweight title rather than leave the division idle. Twenty-four hours later, Aspinall removed the decision from the promotion's hands.
He also made a point of saying he had asked for permission to break the news himself.
- "I've asked the UFC to allow me to make this statement because I don't want to hold the heavyweight division up."
- "I know what it's like to have your career put on hold and I want the other fighters to have the opportunity to compete for the title."
- "The UFC and Hunter [Campbell] have been informed every step of the way and have seen the tests, procedures and medical information relating to my eyes."
Aspinall was explicit that giving up the belt is not a retirement. "I'm absolutely gutted. I've chased this dream since I was 10 years old," he wrote. "I'm not done. Stepping away from the title is not stepping away from the sport or the dream."
A reign that produced one no contest and zero completed defences
Aspinall leaves the undisputed championship at 15-3, 1 NC, with the strange distinction of having held the belt for more than a year without ever finishing a defence.
The route there was fast and violent. He knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round in November 2023 to win the interim title, then stopped Curtis Blaydes in the first round in July 2024 — and held that interim belt long enough to become the longest-reigning interim champion in UFC history. The unification fight with Jon Jones was talked about for the better part of two years and never got made. In June 2025, Jones retired and Aspinall was promoted to undisputed champion.
His first outing with the full belt lasted a matter of seconds of live action before the fouls ended it.
Gane's interim belt, and the grievance attached to it
Ciryl Gane is the immediate beneficiary. He stopped Alex Pereira in the second round in June to take the interim title, and with the undisputed championship now vacant, the path to an upgrade is clear — the same mechanism that made Aspinall undisputed when Jones walked away in 2025.
It is an uncomfortable sequence for a section of the fanbase, and Aspinall did not pretend otherwise. The sharpest passage in his statement is about officiating, not about Gane's ability.
"What makes this particularly difficult is that many of the complications I'm dealing with are a result of fouls that changed the course of my career," he wrote. "Fighters rely on officials to enforce the rules and protect us in those moments, and it's hard to still be dealing with the consequences today."
There is no governing-body proposal attached to that. It is a complaint about enforcement — that eye pokes are treated as incidental in a way that other fouls are not, and that the fighter absorbing the damage carries the cost alone. Coming from a champion who has just surrendered a belt over it, the complaint has more weight than it usually does.
Gane, for his part, has been backed publicly to beat Aspinall in a rematch that is now indefinitely off the table. "I think Gane's going to win," Jones told the Ring Magazine in July. "When you become the champion and beat a man like Alex Pereira, it has to do something for your confidence."
Aspinall closed by saying he will step back from public platforms while he works towards clearance. "Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this absolute nightmare. I'll be back as soon as I'm medically able to be."
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