Demetrious Johnson walked away from fighting with his body mostly intact, and he’s hoping Tom Aspinall can do the some. And possibly sooner than fans might expect.
On Monday, Aspinall officially vacated his UFC heavyweight title following a tumultuous 11-month period in which he saw a championship defense against Ciryl Gane end in a no-contest due to Aspinall being unable to continue due to an eye-poke, subsequently require surgeries to address his eye injuries, watch Gane win an interim title in his absence, and now he faces an uncertain timetable for his return to action.
Given the severity of the injury and the sensitivity of the area, Johnson wondered if Aspinall’s competition days are over.
“Do you guys think we’ll ever see Tom Aspinall fight again?” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “Logically, deep down in my gut, I would say no. I wouldn’t risk the opportunity of me losing my vision, not being able to see my children, not being able to see my kids. He could potentially lose one. I’m thinking worst-case scenario. … I’ll be shocked if Tom Aspinall fights again just because when it comes to fighting, comes to training, that eye is always going to be in compromise.
“It can get scraped, it can get eye poked again in training, it can get eye poked in fighting again. Is he willing to take that risk? I wouldn’t take that risk, but then again, Tom Aspinall probably has bigger balls than me, and I’m OK with that.”
Aspinall has fought just four times since suffering a knee injury in a loss to Curtis Blaydes in July 2022. He bounced back with a successful return a year later by defeating Marcin Tybura, then claimed an interim title with a knockout over Sergei Pavlovich before successfully defending that belt in a rematch with Blaydes. He was elevated to undisputed status following incumbent champion Jon Jones’ retirement in June 2025.
Much of Aspinall’s time on the sidelines was spent waiting on a unification bout with Jones that never materialized, making his current situation even more disheartening. As Johnson sees it, Aspinall was always playing with fire even if he took his time and was cautious dealing with his injury situation.
“When this injury happened, deep down inside, I knew the road it was going to take for Tom Aspinall to come back to fight,” Johnson said. “Not saying that I’ve sustained an eye injury before, but as an athlete, when you’re doing a sport like mixed martial arts, there’s eight-week training camps that you have to do in order to get ready for a fight and when you’re doing those eight weeks, you’re going to get punched in the face.
“It’s not like swimming or rowing or bike-riding or playing basketball. Your eyes come into contact when you are fighting, when you are sparring, when you are grappling, when you’re getting crossfaced, so that right there, eight weeks, it’s got to get through that training camp, and within those eight weeks, he’s also got to get an eye exam.”
To back up his words of warning, Johnson evoked Aspinall’s fellow British UFC champion, Michael Bisping. “The Count” famously battled through eye injuries throughout the latter portion of his career, finding ways to trick physicians and commissions into letting him fight, and while he had massive success inside the octagon, he also currently sports a glass eye.
That’s why Johnson only wants to see Aspinall compete again if he is 100 percent sure there is no chance of further injury.
“At the end result, Michael Bisping cannot see out of one of his eyes and that could happen to Tom Aspinall if he rushes back to the octagon and doesn’t take the necessary steps to get his eye healthy,” Johnson said.
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