Tom Aspinall is not waiting around. The UFC heavyweight champion has confirmed he is already deep into a training camp and that negotiations with the UFC for the Ciryl Gane unification fight are actively moving forward.
Earlier today on his podcast, he said:
“Back in full training for the Ciryl Gane fight, and we’re currently in talks with the UFC.”
The matchup gained serious momentum immediately after UFC Freedom 250. Gane stopped Alex Pereira to claim the interim heavyweight title and wasted no time calling for a September fight in Paris, a location that would hand the French heavyweight a home crowd advantage. Aspinall accepted without hesitation, and the fight has been building toward an official announcement ever since.
Eddie Hearn and Tom Aspinall’s Father Push for a Date
The business side is moving simultaneously. Eddie Hearn confirmed just yesterday that Tom Aspinall’s father, Andy, has been in direct contact with the UFC, delivering a straightforward message that his son will be ready and the camp wants a confirmed fight date locked in.
The Eye Poke Ordeal That Has Fuelled Everything
The eye-poke incident that surrounds this entire matchup adds a layer of personal motivation for Tom Aspinall that goes beyond a title fight.
At UFC 321 in October, his first undisputed title defense against Gane ended in a no-contest after he was poked in both eyes and unable to continue. He was subsequently diagnosed with significant traumatic bilateral Brown’s syndrome, a condition linked to restricted eye movement, and continued suffering from double vision weeks after the incident.
Over the following 108 days, he attended 18 different appointments with various specialists before finally receiving clearance for surgery. In February, he underwent surgery on both eyes at Optegra Eye Hospital, with his medical team confirming the injury had caused serious vision changes. Aspinall has since stated he believes the eye pokes were deliberate rather than accidental. That entire ordeal, the surgery, the recovery, the public skepticism, and months of being unable to drive or train, is sitting in the background of every training session he does right now. September cannot come soon enough.
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