Tom
Aspinall says recovering from multiple eye surgeries was more
painful than anything he has experienced, including a
vasectomy.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king discussed the
aftermath of his bout against Ciryl Gane
during a recent podcast appearance, where he revealed the extent of
pain and inconvenience he faced due to his eye surgeries.
Tom Aspinall’s eye surgeries and Ciryl Gane fight aftermath
explained
Aspinall’s UFC
321 bout against Gane ended in a no contest after multiple
accidental eye pokes left the heavyweight champion unable to
continue.
“I’ve had three [eye] surgeries,” Aspinall said on the “Great
Company with Jamie Lang” podcast. “I had one on the left and two on
the right. By the way, I’ve had the snip, right? I’ve had a
vasectomy, and I was thinking that has got to be the worst surgery
ever. Mate, compared to eye surgery, it is nothing. Honestly.”
Aspinall further revealed that he had to remain awake while doctors
operated on his eyes.
“It’s f*cking horrendous,” he recalled. “They kept me awake. They
put something on to keep your eyeball open… they numb your eye…
and they’re coming at you with a scalpel or knife, whatever it’s
called, and you’re just watching them slice your eyeball open. It
was horrendous.”
Aspinall admitted that his biggest concern immediately after the
fight was whether the damage would have long-term consequences.
“At first, I was super scared about it, to be honest,” Aspinall
said, noting that he initially feared the damage to his eye could
be permanent. “Especially the first two weeks. Yeah, I was really
scared about it.”
The Brit then addressed the backlash he faced from fans for the
anticlimactic ending to the bout after many accused him of wanting
out of the fight following a strong start from Gane.
“If you’re going to sit behind your phone and comment on the
toughness of a professional MMA fighter, then you don’t really know
what you’re talking about.”
Aspinall has since revealed that he’s ready to return to action,
with a rematch against interim champion Gane expected to go down
later this year.