SerpApi.Org
Tom Aspinall has given one of the more visceral accounts of injury recovery heard from a UFC fighter in recent memory, telling Great Company With Jamie Lang that the three eye surgeries he underwent following his no-contest with Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October were the most painful surgical experiences of his life — ranking even worse than his vasectomy.
“I’ve had three surgeries,” Aspinall said. “I had one on the left and two on the right. By the way, I’ve had the snip, right? I’ve had a vasectomy, and I was thinking that has got to be the worst surgery ever. Mate, compared to eye surgery, it is nothing. Honestly. It’s f—ing horrendous.
“So they kept me awake. They put something on to keep your eyeball open — and obviously, they numb it and stuff. They numb your eye. They did drops and then an injection on the side. Mate, they’re coming at you with like a scalpel or knife, or whatever it’s called, and you’re just watching them slice your eyeball open. It was horrendous.”
Tom Aspinall admits post-surgery fears
The UFC 321 fight was stopped after Aspinall suffered multiple eye pokes from Gane, resulting in a no-contest and ultimately requiring Aspinall to go under the knife on three separate occasions. The decision to stop the fight drew backlash from segments of the fanbase who felt Aspinall should have continued, and Aspinall was honest about the fear he felt in the early stages of his recovery.
“At first, I was super scared about it, to be honest,” he said. “Especially like the first two weeks. Yeah, I was really scared about it.”
He used the fan reaction to draw attention to the reality of what high-level MMA fighters navigate behind the scenes, pointing to his situation as an example of the rarely discussed physical consequences that extend well beyond fight night. Aspinall captured the interim heavyweight title with a 69-second knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in November 2023, defended it by stopping Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024, and was promoted to undisputed champion after Jon Jones notified the UFC of his retirement.
Gane has since claimed the interim belt by finishing Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250, setting up a unification fight with Aspinall that is expected to take place in Paris in September once the contractual details are resolved.
Want to see more exclusive sports content like this? Follow Sportsnaut on MSN.
Related Headlines
