Big Tom is finally coming back.
Eight months after Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall suffered a gruesome eye injury against Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 321, the English champion is back in full training and already eyeing his return.
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Aspinall’s injury required multiple surgeries and sidelined him from full training for several months, putting the Heavyweight division on hold and leaving fans wondering when — and where — he would finally get his rematch with Gane.
Now, there is movement.
Aspinall announced his return to full training on social media, while also revealing a new recovery podcast that he filmed over the past few months.
“Back in full training for the Ciryl Gane fight, and we’re currently in talks with the UFC,” Aspinall wrote. “We filmed The Inner Game during my recovery between February and March, and those conversations genuinely helped me through a tough time. These episodes will be coming out over the next 12 weeks while I’m in camp. Hope you enjoy Episode 1.”
With UFC’s numbered event schedule booked out until August, it would make plenty of sense for the promotion to target UFC 333 for Aspinall vs. Gane 2. That event is expected to go down in Abu Dhabi, which just so happens to be the exact location where Aspinall’s nightmare began.
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That is, of course, if his new manager, Eddie Hearn, signs off on it.
Aspinall previously agreed to rematch Gane at UFC Paris in September, but because that event is not a numbered pay-per-view, it is hard to imagine UFC placing such a massive Heavyweight title fight there.
Nevertheless, Aspinall has been rock solid inside the Octagon, racking up eight UFC wins with seven first-round finishes. As for Gane, he enters the rematch as the interim Heavyweight champion after knocking out Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 (watch highlights)
The Heavyweight division has been stuck in limbo for months.
Now, it finally feels like things are starting to move again.
