Without fighting since October 2025 in Abu Dhabi (USA), Tom Aspinall is far from returning to action in the UFC. As there is no forecast for him to fight again, the Englishman showed great fair play and decided to relinquish the heavyweight belt (up to 120,2 kg) on Monday morning (14). However, anyone who thinks it was easy for the company's star to give up the title is mistaken.
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On his official Instagram account, Aspinall admitted he was shaken by still not having medical clearance to return to fighting and announced he would be unreachable indefinitely. In his last fight, the Englishman received eye pokes from Ciryl Gane in the first round and left the scene unable to compete. Since then, the athlete has undergone several surgeries and is still dealing with infections and other problems.
And the athlete's sadness goes beyond the injury. A fan of fighting, Aspinall has always made it clear that his dream was to be a UFC champion and he wanted to dominate the category, but he was prevented from starting his reign. In any case, the Englishman reassured his fans by stating that, despite the setback, he will not stop fighting and guarantees that he will bounce back in his career.
“I am absolutely devastated. I have pursued this dream since I was ten years old. I am not finished yet. It is not over. Giving up the title does not mean abandoning the sport or the dream. I will continue to do everything in my power to recover, receive medical clearance, and return to competition as soon as possible.”
“What makes this particularly difficult is that many of the complications I’m dealing with are a result of fouls that changed the course of my career. Fighters depend on officials to enforce the rules and protect us in these situations, and it’s still difficult to deal with the consequences nowadays. I will return as soon as I am medically cleared.”
"Thank you all for your continued support. I'll be stepping away from social media and letting my team handle everything for now, while I focus on getting medical clearance to fight. See you all soon."
Future of the heavyweight
With Tom Aspinall out and relinquishing the undisputed title, Ciryl Gane , his rival, should be officially crowned the new UFC heavyweight champion. It's worth noting that the Frenchman holds the interim belt. Regarding his next fight, 'Bon Gamin' could face Alex Poatan again, Josh Hokit , Sergei Pavlovich , or even the winner of Alexander Volkov vs. Rizvan Kuniev.
Johnny Walker opens up about his heavyweight debut at UFC 332.
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