TOM ASPINALL has been on the sidelines for over a year – but that hasn’t stopped the heavyweight division from moving on.
The Atherton assassin’s entire world was turned upside down at 321 in Abu Dhabi last October.
His eagerly anticipated showdown with Ciryl Gane ended in a no contest after a horrific left him unable to see.
Aspinall has undergone FOUR surgeries since that fateful night at the Etihad Arena.
Those gruelling procedures were initially a success and he was on course to make a triumphant return to the octagon early tomorrow morning in the main event of UFC 334.
But disaster struck during preparations for his rematch with Gane when he got hit in sparring and his right eye essentially returned to square one.
Eager not to let his setback hold up the division, Aspinall decided.
His vacation of the belt saw former opponent and laid the groundwork for the Frenchman to
Despite his latest setback, , 33, wasn’t rushed back into yet another surgery.
And it was reported by Ariel Helwani that the dad of three will have to wait until January at the earliest to find out if he needs more surgery.
Should his eye not correct itself to a doctor’s liking, he’ll have to undergo yet ANOTHER operation.
And with that will come another lengthy period of recovery before doctors potentially give him the all-clear to resume full training.
So it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that we don’t see the fan favourite back in action until the back end of 2027.
Aspinall has gone nigh-on radio silent over the last two months, allowing his team to run his social media channels while he focuses on spending time with his kids and his recovery.
But he’ll no doubt be a frustrated observer this weekend when Gane looks to win his first undisputed heavyweight title fight, which he reckons will end emphatically.
The fan favourite told Cloudbet Combat : “I think Gane’s going to win.
“I think that ultimately Hokit’s going to tire, and Gane is going to keep him at the end of his punches and kicks.
“I can see a way that Hokit can win by just making it ugly and roughing him up a little bit, but I don’t think it’s likely.
“I would say Ciryl Gane would do a late stoppage by strikes, in the fourth or fifth round.”
