UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall still cannot see out of one eye after suffering a double eye poke in his controversial championship bout against Ciryl Gane on October 25.
“(The doctor) said it’s bad, not good. His eye is a little bit more closed than it was. His right eye still can’t see anything. Said it’s gray,” Aspinall’s father, Andy, revealed Tuesday in a YouTube video.
“He was tested on words, and he just couldn’t see anything. His left eye is about 50 percent. He got through about four letters on the eye chart and then just couldn’t see any more. So one eye is really, really blurry, and the other still isn’t functioning.”
The UFC 321 main event in Abu Dhabi this past weekend ended in a no contest after Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in both eyes late in the first round. Aspinall, 32, did not regain vision in his right eye during the mandatory five-minute medical break, which led officials to rule the match a no contest.
Fans expressed frustration and booed during Aspinall’s post-match interview inside the Octagon.
“Guys, I just got poked knuckle-deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing?” Aspinall (15-3) asked. “What am I supposed to do about it? I didn’t do the poke. I can’t see.”
Gane expressed remorse over the incident. UFC President Dana White also confirmed plans to book a rematch between the two fighters.
“I’m feeling sorry,” Gane said, according to the Associated Press. “I’m very sorry about that.”
Andy Aspinall added that while there is no tear in his son’s eye, the doctor warned the damage is “really bad.” Additional tests are scheduled for later this week to assess the full extent of the injury.
Expressing frustration with the sport’s rules, Andy criticized the lack of consequences for the fouling fighter compared to the lasting effects on his son.
“The guy who fouled him faces no consequence, and there’s a consequence to Tom. Hopefully, he’ll be alright, but it might not be,” Andy said at the start of his video.
As Tom Aspinall continues his recovery, fans and the MMA community await updates on his vision and the upcoming rematch with Ciryl Gane.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/29/sports/ufcs-tom-aspinall-struggling-to-see-after-eye-poke-in-troubling-update/
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