Aspinall On A Potential Pereira vs. Gane Fight

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has addressed the rumors of an interim title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane.

While Aspinall has previously been vocal about defending his title against Gane in a rematch, his outlook has changed a little following a diagnosis that has left his future uncertain. Since his October 2025 bout with Gane ended in a No-Contest due to double eye-pokes, Aspinall has been navigating the recovery for traumatic bilateral Brown’s syndrome—a condition that prevents his eyes from moving upward and causes persistent double vision.

Tom confirmed he has already completed one surgery on his right eye and is scheduled for a second procedure in mid-January 2026. Fellow Brit and former champion Michael Bisping, who famously fought with one eye, has publicly urged Aspinall not to rush back. 

Bisping Reacts

“I had about five or six eye surgeries. I do know a little bit about this. So real quick, let’s talk about this. Tom’s going to need, apparently, eye surgery. It will probably just be a minor thing like a realignment of the tendons but things can go wrong. Joe [Rogan] is absolutely correct, 100 percent, when he says things can go wrong.

“My retina was reattached after it was detached against Vitor Belfort and then it re-detached and then they fixed it again and then I got glaucoma. Because once you start messing around with the eyes, in fact just like any part of your body, once you start going in and messing around with it, it’s never the same again. It’s never quite as strong and things can go wrong.

“The one thing you can’t do with an eye is rush back. That is the one big lesson that I learned. Because I did that. I rushed back too soon. I rushed back to sparring. I rushed back to competition and I never saw out of that eye again,” Bisping said

Aspinall Responds

With Aspinall likely out until the third quarter of 2026, the UFC is reportedly looking at the June 14 White House event for a potential Pereira-Gane interim title clash. Aspinall had this to say.

“It would be a good fight. I think it’s a good stylistic matchup. Obviously the plan is to go back and beat the living daylights out of Ciryl Gane, that’s the plan. But right now, the short-term plan is to get back to where I should be and get back in the gym,” Aspinall said