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
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