Tom Aspinall’s first title defence as undisputed UFC heavyweight champion ended in chaos — and weeks later, the fallout has taken a far more serious turn.
The 32-year-old, from Atherton, was defending his belt for the first time against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi when the fight was stopped late in the opening round.
Gane’s finger appeared to go – in Aspinall’s own words – “knuckle-deep” into both of his eyes, leaving the champion unable to see or continue.
The bout was ruled a no-contest, a result that frustrated fans, the UFC, and Aspinall himself.
In a new update, the British star has revealed he’s been diagnosed with “significant bilateral Brown’s syndrome,” a rare and potentially career-threatening eye condition.
In a medical update posted to Instagram, Aspinall shared the specialist report confirming his diagnosis: “significant bilateral Brown’s syndrome” — meaning his eyes cannot move properly upwards, particularly when looking inward. The report also detailed persistent double vision, reduced visual function, limited eye motility and substantial field loss.
For now, Aspinall has been banned from training or fighting, and the timeline for recovery remains uncertain. Doctors are considering “targeted periocular steroid injections or surgical intervention to address persistent motility impairment” if symptoms don’t improve.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aspinall said: “We’ve got to see how it goes over the next few weeks. Obviously that’s down to the specialists and stuff, but I’m not in the gym training at the moment. I’m not doing anything MMA-wise at the moment. I’m just following the doctor’s orders right now and seeing what happens with the health.”
The British heavyweight champion admitted surgery might be required — a possibility that could rule him out for all of 2026.
However, in his Instagram post, Aspinall doesn’t seem to be letting go. Addressing Gane, he wrote in his caption: “Coming to get my revenge on the big cheater.”
After UFC 321, Aspinall faced criticism for choosing not to continue fighting, including from UFC CEO Dana White, who called the outcome a “pain in the a**.”
Aspinall, however, had a blunt response for anyone questioning his decision.
“I didn’t continue, and I’ll tell you why I didn’t continue: because I’m not a f***ing dummy,” he said on YouTube. “I’m not going to go out there and fight one of the best strikers in the world if I can’t see. I know, as an MMA fighter, things are going to happen in the fight that compromise you.
“If you get double eye poked in both eyes and you’ve got no vision because of a foul, why should I carry on? So some dummy can look and say, ‘Oh yeah, Tom just got knocked out’? I ain’t going to fight if I can’t see anything because of a foul.”
The Brit also pushed back on suggestions that he “quit” or was losing the fight.
“I felt like the fight was going OK,” he said. “It was going pretty much to plan. There was this big notion in the media before that I was just going to run through Ciryl Gane. I might look like an idiot, sometimes I might talk like an idiot, but when it comes to fighting, I know what I’m talking about.”
He added that Gane’s defensive style was part of the challenge: “Ciryl’s got really good defense, and he moves really, really well on his feet. I knew that I had to stand in range and take a few punches from Ciryl to be able to land my own shots. We knew that was happening. Yeah, nosebleeds happen in a fight. Was he hitting me with a few jabs? Yes. Was I hitting him with a few shots as well? Yes. I thought it was going to be a five-round fight. I knew it was going to be a long and tough fight.”
While referee Jason Herzog ruled the eye-poke accidental, Aspinall now believes Gane acted deliberately.
“I think that when it initially happened, I didn’t think much of it,” he said. “I thought, ‘Accidental eye poke, whatever.’ When I watched it back, that’s when I really got the gist of what’s going on. The guy was trying to f***ing poke my eyes out, all the way through that round. Multiple exchanges, nearly every exchange that I could put him in danger, he had his fingers out, pointing toward my eyes. … The guy was cheating from the first second, and the way he wanted to win that fight was to have me compromised by cheating.”
The remarks underline just how bitterly the champion feels about how his title defence ended. Aspinall also said he has not spoken to Gane since the incident but remains determined to face him again once cleared to fight.
“I’m obviously very keen to get back and beat this guy up,” he said. “But I’ve got to be 100% right. So whenever the eye’s good to go, that’s when I’ll do it.”
What’s Next For The Heavyweight Champ?
For now, Aspinall’s focus is on healing. He continues to undergo tests and specialist consultations, describing the past month as “a lovely time, in and out of the hospital, having all kinds of different tests done to my eyes, speaking to specialists, speaking to surgeons, speaking to doctors.” He added sarcastically: “Oh, it’s been a fantastic time.”
The UFC’s heavyweight division, meanwhile, sits in limbo. Aspinall’s injury leaves the title picture uncertain, and while Gane avoided disqualification, the controversy has already prompted talk of a potential rule review for accidental fouls.
Whether Aspinall’s condition improves naturally or requires surgery, one thing is certain — his comeback, whenever it happens, will be one of the most closely watched stories in combat sports.
Until then, the champion who refuses to fight “blind” is fighting a new battle — one that might prove tougher than any he’s faced in the Octagon.
Featured image credit: X/@UFC/YouTube/TomAspinall (screenshots)
