“I’m absolutely gutted,” Tom Aspinall wrote in his statement after vacating the UFC heavyweight title in mid-September. For the Englishman, relinquishing the belt without a proper title defense was certainly a tough decision. But regardless of the controversies surrounding Aspinall’s reign, a former UFC champion applauded the Manchester-based fighter for making the difficult decision. 

In a recent interview with Athlon Sports (through Casino.org), former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic praised Tom Aspinall for vacating his belt. 

“Looking at Tommy’s situation, I just think, ‘Good of him to do that,'” Miocic said. “I understand it’s probably hard for him to vacate his title the way he did. I give him kudos for doing that because I know it’s hard for him. He was on top of the world, and then everything changed. 

“He got an eye poke. I’ve been there. I’ve torn my retina before, and it’s tough. I just want to give him lots of credit for doing that.”   

Stipe Miocic’s praise for Tom Aspinall stemmed from the circumstances under which the former heavyweight champion decided to vacate his belt. After all, the Manchester-based fighter tried his best to make a comeback after suffering one of the most brutal eye pokes in UFC history.  

At UFC 321, in October 2025, Aspinall’s first title defense was derailed after Ciryl Gane landed a double eye poke. The Frenchman’s foul not only turned the bout into a no-contest but also forced Aspinall to undergo an extensive and grueling medical procedure.

The Englishman was diagnosed with traumatic Brown syndrome, which required him to take 32 eye drops a day and undergo reportedly four eye surgeries. However, he endured the entire ordeal for one reason. 

Aspinall planned a comeback. 

After Ciryl Gane defeated Alex Pereira at UFC White House, he challenged Aspinall to a title unification bout in September. Aspinall agreed and began training in late June. Still, he had not fully recovered from his eye injury, forcing him to push back his expected return even further.

By September, the Englishman had spent almost a year out of competition, which ultimately prompted him to vacate the title so the division could move forward. The UFC subsequently promoted Ciryl Gane from interim champion to undisputed champion, and he is now set to defend the title against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on November 14. 

Aspinall putting the division first and selflessly relinquishing his belt was what impressed Miocic the most. But while praising the Englishman, the UFC legend also criticized the promotion.

“The UFC’s never happy with anyone unless they’re making them a ton of money, so forget about them,” Miocic added. “I think he did the right thing if you know you’re going to be out that long. I’ve been out for a while, but I’ve been back within the year. If it was any longer than that, I would probably do the same as he did and vacate.”   

Miocic’s criticism of the UFC wasn’t necessarily because the promotion undervalued Aspinall’s star power. Instead, his argument centered around the promotion prioritizing the champions to fight regularly to generate revenue.

Aspinall hasn’t fought in a year and is likely to remain away from the sport for a considerable time. He decided to focus on his health rather than fighting compromised. Hence, Miocic advised him not to dwell too much on his decision to vacate the belt.    

That said, while discussing Tom Aspinall’s decision to vacate the belt, Stipe Miocic also reflected on the time when he had to undergo medical treatment for an eye injury. 

Like Tom Aspinall, Stipe Miocic also suffered from an eye injury  

During the interview, Stipe Miocic took us on a trip down memory lane. The former heavyweight champion recalled when Daniel Cormier accidentally landed an eye poke in the second round of their rematch at UFC 241 on August 17, 2019. Miocic eventually knocked out Cormier to avenge his previous loss and reclaim the belt. However, he suffered a retinal tear as a result of the eye poke.

The Cleveland-based fighter required surgery to treat his damaged eye, which sidelined him for a year.

“It happened to me in my second fight with DC,” he added in a Casino.org interview. “I got poked in the eye accidentally, and after the fight, I was kind of like, ‘Man, my eyes are kind of weird-looking and feeling weird.’ Unfortunately, these things happen, but he just has to move on from it and just see it as bad luck.”

Eventually, Miocic returned and defeated Daniel Cormier in their trilogy fight at UFC 252 on August 15, 2020. Having gone through a similar ordeal, Miocic found Aspinall’s struggle particularly relatable.

Unfortunately for the Englishman, he couldn’t make a successful return within a year of Gane’s double eye poke in October last year. More importantly, we don’t know when he’s going to return, or whether he would remain the same fighter once he steps back into the Octagon.