Michael Bisping Reacts to Tom Aspinall Vacating UFC Title

UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping shared his reaction to former UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall vacating his title.

Aspinall vacated the UFC heavyweight title this week due to lingering eye issues suffered against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October 2025, and now Bisping has shared his thoughts on the situation.

Michael Bisping Comments on Tom Aspinall

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Bisping commented on Aspinall being forced to give up his title due to the eye injuries he suffered, something that Bisping knows all too well from his own MMA career.

“‘Bisping did it practically blind.’ Well, I did, but they’re not the same thing. I wasn’t in a fight and then lost the vision in one eye, OK, and then chose to carry on fighting. No, it was a completely different set of circumstances. Tom was double poked in the eye. I still give Ciryl Gane the benefit of the doubt. I don’t think fighters are purposely looking to poke people in the eye. It just happens with those types of gloves. But for me, I lost a fight fair and square to Vitor Belfort even though he was juiced out of his mind. I detached my retina. I rushed back to training too quick. I rushed back to training and sparring very hard. My retina re-detached. I think I got glaucoma, which was terrible,” Bisping said (via MMAjunkie.com).

“It was so painful, one of the worst experiences of my life, and I had surgery to improve that and then when I came around, my vision was gone. Dana White called me up himself and said, ‘Have you spoken to your doctors yet?’ And I said no. He said, ‘Well, I have, and you’re never going to fight again.’ So, the situation (with me) is very, very different. I had to fight again. I had just moved to America. This was all that I had. So, one way or the other, I made my way back to the octagon, and it wasn’t easy. It was very stressful, and I lied and all the rest of it. I wasn’t trying to get my vision improved. That ship had sailed. So, it’s a completely different situation for Tom Aspinall. Tom Aspinall still has the ability to come back. He’s had setbacks.”

Michael Bisping Hopes Tom Aspinall Returns

Although Aspinall currently has no timetable to return to the Octagon due to his eye injuries, Bisping is holding out hope that he can eventually make a full recovery and return to the cage at some point to fight for the UFC heavyweight title again.

“It’s really, really awful, and you’ve got to feel for Tom. He’s a great guy. He’s never talked (expletive) about anyone, about his opponents either. So, the fact that people come for him and talk (expletive) and call him an (expletive) and say he’s ducking and all the rest of it is just ridiculous. The man has been very, very unfortunate. … All of mine was after the fight, outside the octagon. Tom still has a pathway to come back. He’s just got to take his time,” Bisping said.

Like HEAVY's content?Be sure to follow us.

This article was originally published on HEAVY

The post Michael Bisping Reacts to Tom Aspinall Vacating UFC Title appeared first on HEAVY.