The heavyweight division will have to move on without Tom Aspinall for now. The Englishman recently announced that he is vacating the 265lbs **** le after another incident caused further damage to his right eye. Aspinall has been sidelined for nearly a year after suffering a double eye poke at the hands of Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
He was diagnosed with the rare bilateral traumatic Brown's syndrome and has since undergone triple eye surgery. Eddie Hearn recently revealed that Aspinall needed more time for additional tests before he could be considered 100% healthy. However, the prolonged recovery timeline became increasingly frustrating.
The former champion took to Instagram and penned a lengthy post explaining the circumstances behind his decision. Shortly after, Josh Hokit seized the opportunity to stake his claim to the now-vacant **** le.
The 10-0 heavyweight had recently rejected Alex Pereira's call for a rematch with Gane, who currently holds the interim **** le. Instead, Hokit pitched two blockbuster headliners for UFC 334 later this year, with himself facing Gane for the heavyweight gold and Pereira taking on Sergei Pavlovich.
Now that Aspinall has vacated the belt, Gane is seemingly expected to be upgraded to undisputed champion. However, staying true to his original plan, Hokit has doubled down on facing the Frenchman for the championship next.
#aspinall #heavyweight #year
He was diagnosed with the rare bilateral traumatic Brown's syndrome and has since undergone triple eye surgery. Eddie Hearn recently revealed that Aspinall needed more time for additional tests before he could be considered 100% healthy. However, the prolonged recovery timeline became increasingly frustrating.
The former champion took to Instagram and penned a lengthy post explaining the circumstances behind his decision. Shortly after, Josh Hokit seized the opportunity to stake his claim to the now-vacant **** le.
The 10-0 heavyweight had recently rejected Alex Pereira's call for a rematch with Gane, who currently holds the interim **** le. Instead, Hokit pitched two blockbuster headliners for UFC 334 later this year, with himself facing Gane for the heavyweight gold and Pereira taking on Sergei Pavlovich.
Now that Aspinall has vacated the belt, Gane is seemingly expected to be upgraded to undisputed champion. However, staying true to his original plan, Hokit has doubled down on facing the Frenchman for the championship next.
#aspinall #heavyweight #year
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