MMA
Tom Aspinall must undergo more eye tests before returning, says Eddie Hearn: "It all depends whether he’ll be ready"
Zuffa LLCTom Aspinall is eager to get back inside the Octagon, but Eddie Hearn said his fighter needs additional testing on his eyes before he throws leather again.
Aspinall hasn't been in action since suffering a double eye poke in the UFC 321 main event back in Oct. 2025. He was putting his heavyweight gold at stake against Ciryl Gane, who was having success on the feet before committing the accidental foul. Aspinall couldn't continue, and the fight was ruled a no contest.
In the following weeks and months, Aspinall had to undergo numerous eye surgeries to correct his issues. While Hearn, who represents Aspinall through Matchroom's talent agency, wants to see his fighter leave no doubt as to who runs the UFC heavyweight division, he admitted to Bloody Elbow that there is still a hurdle to clear (via MMAFighting).
“He's under contract,†Hearn said. “The only thing that we have to look at is when Tom Aspinall will be ready to return. And that's not when he will be ready to return from a mindset perspective; that's from a commission perspective in terms of his injuries. And that shows you what he has been through, because if the commission won't let him fight, you know how serious the injuries were. Not saying that's the case, but that's the position we need to get to in order for him to return to the ring.
“He's motivated, and I can't give you an exact date yet, but what I can tell you is he wants to get back in there as soon as he is physically able to do so.â€
Hearn insists that Aspinall is in the right frame of mind to do battle once again, but he must see through the logistics before he's back to prizefighting.
“It all depends whether he'll be ready,†Hearn said. “He's training. I think he's gonna have to go through some additional testing to make sure he's good to return, but he wants to fight.
Ciryl Gane has since captured the interim heavyweight title, stopping Alex Pereira via second-round TKO at UFC Freedom 250. A title unification bout with Aspinall is the clear path once the main champion is fully ready to compete again.
Are you expecting Tom Aspinall to fight Ciryl Gane in a title unification bout before the end of 2026, or will we have to wait a bit longer? Join in on the conversation in the comments below.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
MMA
Justin Gaethje would rather fight Conor McGregor than avenge losses to Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira: "Fun to shut him up"
Zuffa LLCJustin Gaethje initially had revenge on his mind, but he'd put that to the side for a clash with Conor McGregor.
Gaethje has fought just about every high-level lightweight of his era that one can think of. He's taken on the likes of Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, Ilia Topuria, Dustin Poirier, and Eddie Alvarez to name a few. The one name who has eluded him is McGregor.
While Gaethje suffered a brutal knockout loss to Holloway and was choked out by Oliveira, “The Highlight†told CBS Sports' Damien Harris that he'd rather finally get his hands on “Mystic Mac†than get a chance at redemption (via MMAFighting).
“Damn, there's really no one,†Gaethje said. “It would have been Oliveira or Holloway, but since Topuria beat them, I'm going to go ahead and justify it to myself like I got them back.
“So I guess McGregor. Fun to shut him up.â€
Gaethje is the reigning UFC lightweight titleholder after Topuria failed to leave his stool for the fifth round of their UFC Freedom 250 clash back in June. Throughout his career, Gaethje had been chasing undisputed status. Now that he has achieved his goal, the fan favorite admits he's in unfamiliar territory.
“It's such a weird place to be in,†Gaethje said. “There's always been a champion, I've always had somebody to chase. Now, being the champion, it's like I just have to retain and hold onto what I have. I'm not looking at specific opponents, I know the best in the world are gunning for me. So that is the name of the game. I know that it's going to be one of the best guys in the world.
“Arman [Tsarukyan] was fighting Oliveira, now he's fighting someone else, so there's a couple of big fights that are going to determine who I'll fight next.â€
Tsarukyan has a fight with Mauricio Ruffy scheduled for UFC 331 on Sept. 19. If “Batman†is able to win that bout, he could find himself challenging Gaethje for the top prize at 155 pounds. If Ruffy pulls off the upset, it would make things quite interesting for the UFC matchmakers.
Do you think Justin Gaethje should ditch the idea of fighting Conor McGregor, or is there still a chance the bout could take place? Sound off in the comments below.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
MMA
Dana White reacts to UFC 329 stars being fined over post-fight celebrations: "It's one of those tough things"
Zuffa LLCDana White has shared his stance on the three UFC 329 fighters who were fined.
Max Holloway, who headlined the International Fight Week card, Paddy Pimblett, and Gable Steveson all hopped the Octagon fence after emerging victorious in Las Vegas on July 11. While it's the most popular celebratory gesture in MMA, it often draws the ire of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. As a result, all three men were fined despite backlash from the likes of UFC Hall of Famers Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping.
White isn't nearly as harsh on the NSAC as others, but when speaking to reporters during a recent Contender Series scrum, the UFC boss said there should be more of an understanding depending on whether or not the celebration actually caused an issue (via MMAJunkie).
“It's one of those tough things because these guys get so excited,†White said. “When you're caught up in the moment, when you think about how hard they train, they're gone from their families, they cut weight, they do all this stuff, and then they win, they're not thinking about fines or any of that stuff. What I think should happen is if you jump out of the cage to do something violent, then you should get fined… The perfect example is Khabib (Nurmagomedov) when he went after (Conor McGregor). Those type of things. But if you just get overly excited and you jump out of the cage, I don't think that's a big deal.â€
The likes of Bisping have slammed athletic commissions for taking money out of fighters' pockets. The NSAC defended their decision and have pointed to the aforementioned 2018 incident where Khabib Nurmagomedov jumped out of the Octagon to attack Dillon Danis, a member of Conor McGregor's team.
Whether or not the NSAC will eventually soften its stance on the most popular post-fight celebration in the sport remains to be seen.
Do you agree with Dana White's take on the NSAC fining MMA fighters for jumping the cage fence? Share your opinion in the comments below.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
Justin Gaethje would rather fight Conor McGregor than avenge losses to Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira: "Fun to shut him up"
Tom Aspinall must undergo more eye tests before returning, says Eddie Hearn: "It all depends whether he’ll be ready"
Dana White reacts to UFC 329 stars being fined over post-fight celebrations: "It's one of those tough things"
Justin Gaethje would rather fight Conor McGregor than avenge losses to Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira: "Fun to shut him up"
Tom Aspinall must undergo more eye tests before returning, says Eddie Hearn: "It all depends whether he’ll be ready"
Dana White reacts to UFC 329 stars being fined over post-fight celebrations: "It's one of those tough things"
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