Joe Rogan Sounds Alarm On Tom Aspinall Brutal Injury: ‘He Might Not Ever Fight Again’

The UFC 321 main event between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane has left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth, but if you listen to Joe Rogan, the aftertaste might linger forever. The longtime UFC commentator and podcast host recently dropped a reality check: there is a legitimate chance we have seen the last of the British champion in the octagon.

A Disaster In Every Sense Of The Word

Let’s recap the misery, shall we? Tom Aspinall finally gets his shot to defend the undisputed title. The fans are ready. The division is ready to move on from the Jon Jones holding pattern. Then, in the first round, Ciryl Gane’s fingers go right by Aspinall’s eye. The fight ends in a no-contest, leaving everyone confused, angry, and bereft of a conclusion.

Rogan, speaking on his podcast, didn’t try to sugarcoat the situation.

“The Tom Aspinall-Ciryl Gane thing was a f****** disaster,” Rogan said. “I mean, that’s a disaster. Tom Aspinall still can’t see. He’s got a f*****-up right eyeball still.”

It’s rare to hear “disaster” used so liberally in sports commentary without it being hyperbole, but in this case, the shoe fits. A division that was desperate for clarity is now muddier than ever, and its best athlete is facing a medical nightmare.

The severity of the injury

This isn’t just a scratched cornea that heals with a few days of rest and some eye drops. We are talking about potential career-altering damage. Rogan highlighted the specific nature of the trauma, noting that there might be tendon damage involved.

For those who think Aspinall might be milking the situation, Rogan shut that down immediately. He pointed out that while the right eye is the one currently causing the headlines, the foul was actually a double-feature of pain.

“If you look at when he fought, his left eye, the finger went deeper in his left eye than it did his right eye,… So if you think he’s faking it, he was knuckle-deep in that f***ing left eye. It’s horrible to see.”

The Curse Of Tom Aspinall

You have to feel for the guy. Aspinall has arguably been the most talented heavyweight we’ve seen in a generation, blending speed and power in a way that shouldn’t be physically possible for a human that size. Yet, his momentum keeps hitting brick walls.

Remember July 2022? He stepped into the cage against Curtis Blaydes and his knee exploded 15 seconds in. He lost a year of his prime. He came back, looked incredible, knocked out Marcin Tybura, and won the interim belt.

Then came the waiting game. He sat on the sidelines waiting for a unification bout with Jon Jones that never materialized. Now, just as he gets back to business, he’s staring down multiple surgeries and a potential retirement at age 32. It’s the kind of luck that makes you wonder if he broke a mirror—or in this case, had someone break his eyes.

A Division On Life Support

If Tom Aspinall is out for the long haul, where does that leave the heavyweights? It’s a bleak assessment, but an accurate one. Jones is semi-retired. Francis Ngannou is boxing or fighting in the PFL. Stipe Miocic is gone. If Aspinall can’t return, we are left with Gane—the guy who caused the injury—and a handful of contenders who haven’t quite separated themselves from the pack.

The heavyweight championship title feels more like a cursed amulet that hurts anyone who touches it. Here’s hoping Aspinall’s surgeries go better than Rogan’s predictions, or we might be watching a very different heavyweight landscape in 2026.