Will Tom Aspinall Fight Again?

Joe Rogan is not sure if UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall will fight again. 

Rogan revealed that the damage Aspinall sustained from a double eye poke against Ciryl Gane in October at UFC 321 is far more severe than many fans realize. The injury occurred during the opening round of Aspinall’s first title defense in Abu Dhabi. The bout was ruled a no-contest. Since then, Aspinall has been diagnosed with bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome, a rare condition that restricts eye movement and vision. Aspinall recently confirmed that he has already undergone one surgery and is scheduled for a second procedure this month.

Rogan compared the situation to the toughness of Michael Bisping—who famously fought while blind in one eye—but cautioned that eye injuries are unpredictable. While Aspinall has remained defiant on social media, vowing to “smash” Gane in a rematch once he is medically cleared, Rogan noted that everything depends on the success of these upcoming surgeries. 

Rogan Reacts

“I mean, Tom Aspinall still can’t see. He’s got a messed-up right eyeball still. It’s really bad. The reality is, he might not ever fight again. Who knows. If he has surgery on his eye and it doesn’t go well, and he can’t see out of the eye. Apparently, he’s still messed up in his right eye. There’s some tendon damage or something. Eyes are so tricky. You never know… Unless you’re a complete psychopath like Michael Bisping, who fought eleven fights in the UFC blind in one eye,” Rogan said

Even if that is the case, Bisping showed that obstacles that fuel further success. This was seen during his eye injury that came during his fight with Vitor Belfort in 2013. Belfort connected with a head kick that saw Bisping suffer a detached retina. Bisping would later become blind in one eye. However, he did not let that stop him as he eventually became the UFC Middleweight Champion at UFC 199 in 2016 by beating Luke Rockhold. Aspinall will hope this obstacle leads to more success.