UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has confirmed he’s set to have eye surgery as he continues his recovery from a horror double poke from Ciryl Gane.
The Atherton assassin’s first defence of the undisputed heavyweight crown ended in a first-round no-contest at UFC 321 last October after he was poked in both eyes by the Frenchman.
Aspinall, 32, was left unable to see out of his right eye and immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment.
He’s seen numerous doctors over the last two months, in which he’s suffered from bouts of double vision.
Doctors also diagnosed the heavyweight king with Brown’s syndrome, which is limited upward and inward movement of the eyes.
And his continued sight issues have resulted in the scheduling of surgery.
Aspinall revealed his imminent medical procedure in response to Gane publicly saying he had no date for his next outing in an Instagram post.
He replied: “No s*** there’s not a date yet.
“I’m not medically cleared to fight and about to have surgery thanks to your disgusting fingernails.
“I’ll be back to smash your face in soon, you cheat.”
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UFC supremo Dana White has confirmed Aspinall and Gane’s next fights will be a rematch.
Aspinall is champing at the bit to bank his first title defence but insists he won’t rush back to the cage until his eyes are 100 per cent.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, he said: “Obviously, I want to get back as soon as possible.
“That’s the plan. But I’m also aware that with eyes, you gotta be careful.
“They don’t really know when I’m gonna be back at the moment. I’m still not even cleared to train or do anything.”
In a video on his own YouTube channel, he said: “I’ve got to be 100 per cent right.
“So whenever the eye’s good to go, that’s when I’ll do it.”
