Aspinall hasn't competed since his bout against Ciryl Gane
ended in a no contest last October. Gane accidentally poked him in
both eyes and the Brit subsequently underwent multiple eye
procedures. He still hasn’t received medical clearance to return to
the Octagon and has opted to relinquish the championship.

Tom Aspinall explains why he relinquished the UFC heavyweight
championship

Aspinall took to Instagram to share a lengthy message announcing
his decision to vacate the title amid recent complications with his
right eye. The former champion revealed that he had previously
agreed to a fight date and resumed sparring before an accident
caused further damage.

“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,†Aspinall wrote on Instagram. “Ongoing
complications with my eyes mean I cannot get medically cleared to
fight right now. I've had multiple surgeries, accidents, and
infections, and done everything possible to get back to
competing.â€

Rather than further stalling the heavyweight division, Aspinall has
opted to give up his belt.

“I've now made the decision to vacate the heavyweight title,â€
Aspinall added. “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.â€

Aspinall also clarified in his post that he isn't walking away from
the sport and looks forward to returning to action.

“I'll be back as soon as I'm medically able to be,†Aspinall wrote.
“Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this
absolute nightmare.â€

Ortega has suffered an injury, forcing the cancellation of the bout
scheduled for UFC
331 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. While
“T-City†nurses his injury, Moicano has a new matchup and will now
headline a Fight Night in Las Vegas in October.

Brian Ortega's injury cancels Moicano fight before UFC 331

After his bout with Ortega was pulled from UFC 331, Moicano's next
opponent was announced. The Brazilian is now set to face Tom Nolan in
the main event of the
UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 31 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Ortega took to social media to reveal details of his injury. A deep
cut has forced him out of his UFC lightweight debut and he had to
get stitches above his left eye.

“I have to pull out of the fight because of the stitches in my
eye,†Ortega wrote on Instagram. “I'm on weight, I've been training
my *ss off, and this has honestly been one of the best camps I've
ever had.â€

UFC 331 now has 12 fights on deck, with Gable
Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf
now opening the main card. Joshua Van
vs. Alexandre
Pantoja 2 headlines UFC 331, with Van defending the UFC
flyweight championship against the former champ in a rematch after
an anticlimactic ending to their first meeting, in which Pantoja
suffered an early arm injury.

ONE Championship

Five bouts and one Russian powerhouse looking to erase his first loss headline a stacked card for hardcore Muay Thai fans this week.

Kiamran Nabati meets Nontachai Jitmuangnon in a bantamweight Muay Thai main event at The Inner Circle 31, streaming live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, this Friday, September 18.

Nabati built his name with one of the most destructive unbeaten runs the weekly platform has seen. This includes a contract-earning first-round knockout of Suablack Tor Pran49. Moreover, he scored a decision win over legendary former champion Nong-O Hama that announced him as a genuine contender. His most recent result was a split-decision loss to ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Yod-IQ Or Pimolsri. It was his first professional defeat. Also, it has sharpened his approach heading into Friday's clash.

Nontachai arrives on the best result of his ONE career, a decision win over Felipe Lobo that followed a third-round TKO of Semih Sah Cindir. The Jitmuangnon Gym product won his contract by capturing the Road to ONE: Thailand tournament with a first-round knockout in the final, and a win over Nabati in his prime would mark the biggest result of his career so far.

Nabati and Nontachai headline five-bout Lumpinee card

The co-main event pairs Yamin PK Saenchai against durable Belarusian veteran Alexey Balyko in bantamweight kickboxing. Yamin looks to recapture the early form that produced knockout wins over Zhang Jinhu and Joachim Ouraghi before a rough stretch of consecutive losses, most recently a first-round finish by Sonrak Fairtex.

Three additional bouts round out the Lumpinee card. Petsiam T2A Waterubon meets Wang Zhongxian in strawweight kickboxing. Gabriele Moram faces Cynthia Flores in atomweight Muay Thai. And Velihan Palit takes on Gump in bantamweight kickboxing, giving fight week in Bangkok five distinct storylines to follow.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM