Tom Aspinall announced Monday morning that he has vacated the UFC heavyweight championship. Aspinall, who has been out of action since Ciryl Gane's eye pokes at UFC 321 in October 2025, said he reinjured his eye in a accident during training. "Ongoing complications with my eyes mean I cannot get medically cleared to fight right now," Aspinall wrote on social media.
"I've had multiple surgeries, accidents and infections, and done everything possible to get back to competing. "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. This means more time away from the sport, and right now, the timing of my return is unclear." Aspinall has dealt with several setbacks throughout his UFC career.
After storming onto the UFC scene with five straight victories against increasingly stiff competition, Aspinall took his first UFC loss when he suffered a knee injury just 15 seconds into a July 2022 bout with Curtis Blaydes. That injury sidelined the Englishman for a full year, but he continued to impress upon his return, winning the interim heavyweight championship two fights later by knockout against Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall would go on to become the longest-reigning interim champion in UFC history, though he made only one title defense, a July 2024 knockout of Blaydes in their rematch.
Much of Aspinall's time as champion was spent calling for a fight with then-champion Jon Jones. That fight would never materialize, with Jones instead vacating the title and entering retirement. Aspinall was promoted to undisputed champion in the wake of Jones' retirement.
"I've now made the decision to vacate the heavyweight title," Aspinall wrote in his statement. "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. ...
I've chased this dream since I was 10 years old. I'm not done." While the UFC has not announced what comes next for the heavyweight division, the likely next move is promoting Gane from interim to undisputed champion. Gane defeated Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 to capture the interim belt in his only fight since sharing the Octagon with Aspinall.
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