Joe Rogan Drops Worrying Tom Aspinall Update After UFC Champion's Eye Surgery

Joe Rogan has made a worrying claim about Tom Aspinall after the heavyweight confirmed he was due to have surgery on his eye.

Reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion Aspinall suffered an eye injury in the first round of his UFC 321 bout against Ciryl Gane in Abu Dhabi back in October.

Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes while attempting a punch before the bout was called a no-contest.

The 32-year-old explained how his vision was instantly impacted, with some suggesting the pokes were intentional before they were adjudged as accidental.

Since then, the Atherton fighter has been suffering from “double vision” and was diagnosed with a rare eye condition called “significant traumatic bilateral Brown’s syndrome”.

Aspinall has also said that he remains “not yet medically cleared for combat activity” as his recovery continues.

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Last week, the 32-year-old revealed that he had already undergone surgery on one of his eyes, while he has another “coming mid-January”.

As a result of his injuries, Aspinall will likely remain sidelined for most of the first part of 2026 but has still promised to “beat the living daylights” out of Gane once he does return to the Octagon.

When asked about his plans in a recent interview with One on One, Aspinall claimed: “I’m not even thinking about (retiring) because you’ve got to take one step at a time, don’t you?

“Obviously, the plan is to go back and beat the living daylights out of Ciryl Gane, that’s the plan, but right now, the short-term plan is to get back to where I should be and get back in the gym."

But, in a recent JRE episode, UFC commentator Joe Rogan suggested that the reality of the situation is that Aspinall “may not ever fight again”.

"I mean, Tom Aspinall still can’t see,” Rogan said while speaking to Olympic wrestler Gable Stevenson.

Joe Rogan says Tom Aspinall may NEVER fight again after getting eye surgery 😳

"The reality is he might not ever fight again. If he has surgery on his eye and it doesn't go well and he can't see out of the eye...

Apparently he's still f***ed up in the right eye."

(via… pic.twitter.com/iZzoGE5sWT

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 2, 2026

“He’s got a messed-up right eyeball still. It’s really bad. The reality is, he might not ever fight again. Who knows. If he has surgery on his eye and it doesn’t go well, and he can’t see out of the eye. Apparently, he’s still messed up in his right eye.

“There’s some tendon damage or something. Eyes are so tricky. You never know... Unless you’re a complete psychopath like Michael Bisping, who fought eleven fights in the UFC blind in one eye.”

Aspinall is currently unbeaten in the UFC and boasts an impressive record of 15-3-0.