Is Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane happening again anytime soon? That’s what fans are buzzing about after the heavyweight champ couldn’t continue fighting at UFC 321 because of the accidental eye poke from ‘Bon Gamin’. Well, at the post-fight presser, Dana White already made it clear that a rematch is coming. But when Aspinall walked out wearing an eye patch and admitted he couldn’t see properly after getting treatment, many people started thinking the rematch might take longer than expected. Well, the UFC boss just dropped a crucial update in that regard.

According to Dana White, Tom Aspinall doesn’t have a detached retina even after Ciryl Gane devastatingly double-eye-poked him inside the Octagon. He’s currently recovering in England, and once he finishes the recovery process, which the UFC CEO believes will happen soon, the heavyweight champ will get back and settle the unfinished business with the Frenchman. 

In an interview with Jim Rome, White said, “I was devastated. When you’re in the main event and it’s heating up, and it looks like it’s gonna be a really good fight, and then it ends with an eye poke, and that’s how the fight ends. It’s brutal. He’s at home. He’s recovering. And as soon as he’s able to fight again, we’ll book the rematch. I mean, as far as I know, we haven’t heard that there’s anything; he doesn’t have a detached retina. There’s no damage to the eye. So, he should heal up soon, and we’ll figure out when we can make the fight again.”

Although Dana White confirmed that Aspinall’s eye condition isn’t as serious as fans thought, the UFC head honcho didn’t share the specific date or time when fans could see the Brit return to the ring. However, with the promotion getting ready to enter the Paramount era in 2026, they still don’t have a fight lined up for the big January marquee event, UFC 324 at the T-Mobile Arena as well as who could headline it. If everything goes well, since he isn’t injured, Tom Aspinall could actually end up returning for the first-ever event under UFC’s new broadcasting deal.

Now, as the promotion looks to shrug off what happened in Abu Dhabi and set up the rematch early next year, criticism of the heavyweight champion is still ongoing. Some fans have questioned Aspinall’s heart after he decided not to continue following the eye poke, but the Brit has also been getting heat for not finishing his opponent in the first round despite being a massive favorite.

The doubts about Aspinall not being crafty under pressure also became a point of debate. And now, Jon Jones has jumped in, stirring the pot even deeper by criticizing the reigning heavyweight champion and calling him overrated. 

Jon Jones labels Tom Aspinall “overrated” and a “one-trick pony”

Before Aspinall stepped into UFC 321, many saw him as “the guy” who could finally defeat Jon Jones — arguably the greatest of all time. However, when Ciryl Gane looked surprisingly formidable against him, the public perception shifted. Fans began questioning whether the Brit could even put up a real challenge against ‘Bones,’ let alone beat him. And as that debate continues to heat up, the former champ is adding more fuel to the fire—claiming Aspinall is nothing but a one-trick pony, referring to his reliance on the 1–2 combination.

In an interview with No Script pod, Jones said, “I believe Tom is a great athlete, but he’s a one trick pony. I believe his wrestling and jiu-jitsu are incredibly overrated. He has a beautiful 1-2. I got to learn a lot about his patterns in his last fight. Beautiful 1-2, but that’s really about it. He couldn’t touch Ciryl Gane at all. That’s the way I felt. I felt that Gane was just getting warmed up. Gane’s hands were down. He was shaking his shoulders, bouncing around.” 

Although Jones might be right in saying that Aspinall relies heavily on his 1–2 combination, it’s also true that he started to find some decent range against Gane. If we look at the UFC 321 main event stats, Aspinall was only three significant strikes behind Ciryl Gane, which isn’t much of a difference. So yes, ‘Bones’ was definitely right that ‘Bon Gamin’ looked sharp and was winning the first round. However, Aspinall was catching up, and that’s why the second round — which never happened — remains an unfulfilled intrigue.

That said, do you believe Tom Aspinall shows up differently when the promotion finally makes the rematch? Will he get the first-round KO this time, or will Ciryl Gane remain just as formidable? Let us know in the comments below.