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Tom Aspinall has revealed the eye poke he suffered at UFC 321 was a worse experience than his knee injury back in 2022, but has been provided a positive development following a series of tests done on him from doctors in Abu Dhabi. The undisputed heavyweight champion returned to action on Saturday after over a year off - but the fight ended in disaster. Aspinall took on former interim champion Ciryl Gane in the first defence of his title. Many backed the Wigan warrior to make easy work of the Frenchman, but it did not turn out that way. Aspinall had his moments in the first round, constantly pushing forward, but Gane's stinging jabs appeared to catch the champion off guard. Deep into the first round, the challenger accidentally poked the Brit in both eyes. While Aspinall had five minutes to recover, fans were left concerned when he informed the referee and cage side physician that he could not see. Eventually, the contest was waved off and Aspinall was immediately rushed to hospital . Just hours after the unfortunate incident, the Brit shared several photos of his eyes following the poke and provided an update on his condition on his official YouTube channel . It appears there is no long-term damage after showing that both eyes were clearly bloodshot and red. In the video, his fans were taken inside the Brit's hospital appointment with a doctor - who performed multiple tests and gave the UFC star eye drops. When asked if he was glad the fight was stopped, the doctor replied: "Yeah of course, you should stop the fight until you are good again and cleared from our side." He added: "We didn't find anything dangerous." The 32-year-old has since been cleared to return home for further examination. "It was way scarier than what I did to my knee," Aspinall said, referring to the knee injury he suffered against Curtis Blaydes back in 2022. "Because with my knee, I knew it was going to be alright. I still don't know how this is going to be. We're just waiting for further results. We've got to do more tests in the UK. Flying back today [Sunday], and we'll go from there. I'm not sure when I'll be ready to let everyone know what's going on. Thank you for all the support. See you soon." Aspinall's dad Andy, who also trains the heavyweight, added: "It's a horrendous thing to think as a parent. I know what it's like these days with people saying what they want. But when it's your son, and they could lose an eye, and their health, and they've got children to look after. Something needs doing about it. It's horrendous to look at [the eye poke incident]." Once he has recovered fully, Aspinall is expected to defend his title against Gane in an immediate rematch. "It's total pain in the arse but yes," said UFC chief Dana White about a rematch. "They're both in shape, other than whatever's wrong with his eye. Both guys are not injured. [We will do it] as soon as possible. "It's unfortunate that it ended the way that it did. And yes, I think that there probably will be a lot more interest after they saw [how Gane performed]. He had Tom bloodied up and Tom didn't want to continue in the fight. The rematch is very interesting. I can't force people to fight. If I want to arrange a bout, I can't force people to fight. You certainly can't make somebody carry on if they feel they've been injured. Only Tom knows what occurred. Could he see? Couldn't he see? Could he continue? Only he knows that." Steve Garcia will take on David Onama in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 1. The prelims are expected to get underway at around 8pm UK time (3pm ET / 12pm PT / 2pm CT), while the main card will start at 11pm UK time Sunday (6pm ET / 3pm PT / 5pm CT). In the main event, Onama will likely make the walk to the cage first at around 2am UK time Sunday (9pm ET / 6pm PT / 8pm CT). Fans in the United Kingdom will be able to watch all the action live on TNT Sports.
