Tom Aspinall's UFC nightmare leaves MMA legend deeply saddened

Tom Aspinall‘s injury is worse than first thought.

Stepping into UFC 321 to make his first title defense, a chance to prove to the doubters that he’s the best in the world. A chance to make a statement to Jon Jones after months of verbal warfare. An opportunity to put himself into the greatest heavyweight of all time talks. All gone within the opening round. After a less-than-impressive start to the fight, Aspinall was poked in both eyes simultaneously by opponent Ciryl Gane, ultimately bringing an end to his night. A no contest. Fans drew their pitchforks and marched toward the champion in abundance. Fellow fighters accused the Brit of trying to find an easy way out. But they were all wrong.

Almost one year since the incident, and Tom Aspinall remains sidelined. Several surgeries later, there is still no timeline for a return. Earlier this week, Aspinall was forced to vacate his title, but there’s more. Questions are starting to be asked. The most damning: Is this the end of Tom Aspinall’s career?

Knowing the difficulties that eye injuries bring, UFC great Randy Couture weighed in on the dire situation, saying:

“Unfortunately, that’s fighting. That’s training. That’s competing. That’s one of the worst injuries I sustained, against Ricco Rodriguez. It’s that elbow to the eye and the fractured orbit. It took me six months to recover from that.”

Recalling the time he met Tom Aspinall amid his rise to superstardom, Randy Couture made an interesting proposition to the former UFC champion.

Hoping he recovers well from an injury that can affect his quality of life outside of fighting, Couture insisted that there’s a home for him at the new, exciting Ki MMA promotion should he want it.

“So, I feel for Tom. I got to meet Tom a few years back in Manchester at an expo; a fan expo there. What a nice guy,” Couture added. “That was before his title run. He was still an up-and-comer then. So, great guy; enjoyed being around him.”

“I hope he recovers well, and I hope he gets back in there somewhere. Maybe it’ll be here [in Ki MMA].”