UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall said he has officially returned to "full training" for the first time since he suffered a double eye-poke in October.
Aspinall (15-3) shared the news via social media Thursday. He has not competed since the first defense of his undisputed title resulted in a no-contest at UFC 321, after Ciryl Gane accidentally poked him in both eyes.
Aspinall, 33, underwent surgery earlier this year to address lingering issues of double vision and lack of eye movement. Thursday's post marked the first time Aspinall publicly confirmed he has been medically cleared to resume contact.
"Back in full training for the Ciryl Gane fight, and we're currently in talks with the UFC," Aspinall wrote on X.
After the no-contest in October, Gane (14-2) went on to claim the interim heavyweight title earlier this month in a second-round TKO against former two-weight champion Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250. A unification bout between Aspinall and Gane appeared to be in jeopardy recently, after Aspinall's manager, British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, said he would advise Aspinall not to accept it under his current contract.
Aspinall's post Thursday, however, appeared to indicate that he was optimistic the fight would happen.
In the aftermath of UFC 321, Aspinall accused Gane of poking him in the eye on purpose and referred to him as a "big cheater" during a video on social media.
