Tom Aspinall recently shut down rumors of his UFC exit, clarifying that he’s going nowhere and remains under contract with Dana White’s promotion. Still, it seems the UFC heavyweight champion’s attempt to debunk the rumors hasn’t been enough, as the murmurs surrounding Aspinall’s departure have continued, prompting his manager, Eddie Hearn, to address the issue once again.

In a recent media scrum, Hearn told reporters that Aspinall is still under contract with the UFC and isn’t happy with his striking coach, who sparked the rumor.

“Yeah, I think his striking coach said he wants to leave the UFC,” Hearn said. “He’s not happy. He’s under contract.”

For those who may not know, it was Tom Aspinall’s striking coach, Stipe Drvis, who sparked the rumor during an Instagram Live stream that the Englishman would leave the UFC. That left Aspinall with no choice but to directly address MMA fans on social media and clarify that the UFC exit rumors were false and that he was in constant contact with the promotion’s top brass.

With his latest statement, Hearn has put those rumors to rest. However, the British promoter isn’t alone there.

Dana White also recently addressed the rumors surrounding Aspinall’s departure, stating, “ he is not going anywhere.” With both Eddie Hearn and Dana White now addressing the situation, it appears clear that Tom Aspinall’s immediate future remains with the UFC.

However, there’s still quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding when the heavyweight champion will actually make his comeback and finally put his belt on the line against interim champion Ciryl Gane. Well, Eddie Hearn has some news on that front as well.

Eddie Hearn provides update on Tom Aspinall’s UFC return

Eddie Hearn also clarified that Tom Aspinall is mentally prepared for a stellar comeback. Unfortunately, though, the commission needs additional clearance regarding his eye condition before declaring him fit to return to the cage.

“You know, the only thing that we have to look at is when Tom Aspinall will be ready to return,” Hearn stated further. “And that’s not when he will be ready to return from a mindset perspective. That’s from a commission perspective in terms of his injuries.

“And that shows you what he’s been through, because if the commission won’t let him fight, you know how serious the injuries were. Not saying that’s the case, but that’s the position we need to get to to return to the ring. He’s motivated, and I can’t give you an exact date yet. But what I can tell you is he wants to get back in there as soon as he’s physically able to do so.”

Tom Aspinall has been out of competition since Ciryl Gane poked him in the eye at UFC 321 in October last year. As a result of the Frenchman’s foul, the Englishman suffered double vision and additional injuries that required a lengthy recovery process, ruling him out for nearly a year. However, the heavyweight champion has finally shown some positive signs this year.

Right after Gane defeated Alex Pereira to become the two-time interim heavyweight champion at UFC White on June 14, he called out Aspinall for a unification clash in Paris in September. Expectedly, the Salford native accepted the callout without hesitation and also returned to full-time training in late June. However, their fight couldn’t happen in Paris in the agreed-upon month after the promotion announced Dan Hooker vs. Salahdine Parnasse for September 5.

Despite this, Eddie Hearn’s words make it clear that Aspinall is still dealing with complications from his eye injury. Indeed, Aspinall has started training, which is a positive sign of recovery, but he still needs clearance from the commission to compete, and that might delay his comeback even further.

If the heavyweight champion finally manages to get that clearance, there’s a chance he could headline this year’s Madison Square Garden card, which is already in the works. Eddie Hearn mentioned that Aspinall is currently undergoing some “additional testing,” after which his clearance will determine when he can return to face Ciryl Gane.

Until then, there’s not much left to do but wait for Tom Aspinall to pass his remaining medical tests so we can finally see him back in action.