Josh Thomson alleges that UFC heavyweight championTom Aspinallhas been asked to vacate his title.

Aspinall, who most recently haddouble eye surgery, updated fans about the same via his socials. Since he went under the knife, he will likely be sidelined until next year, before he’s cleared to fight again.

After his highly publicised eye poke, Optegra's experts are proud to have supported UFC Heavyweight Champion@AspinallMMA. In recent months we’ve worked closely with him on his recovery. With an op on both eyes we continue the journey to get Tom’s vision back to fighting fitness.pic.twitter.com/23nnvAcG4R

Tom Aspinall’s journey so far as a champion in the UFC has been wobbly. The Brit captured the interim title in 2023, and strangely had to defend it once against Curtis Blaydes as then-undisputed heavyweight champ Jon Jones chose to fightStipe Miocicinstead of Aspinall.

In 2025, the UFC head honcho had promised fans a title unification bout between “Bones” and Aspinall, but ultimately, due to Jones’ unreliability and unwillingness, the fight never happened. “Bones” later vacated and retired in 2025, after which Aspinall was promoted as the new undisputed champion.

Later that year, atUFC 321, Aspinall locked horns with Ciryl Gane to defend his title, but the bout ended as a no-contest as the champion was poked in both eyes. With a hindered vision, the Brit was unable to continue fighting and retained his strap.

In the aftermath of the eye-poke incident, UFC CEO Dana White promised Tom Aspinall thebest doctorsand assured him that the promotion would bring him back to fight as soon as he recovers. White also promised a rematch between the Brit and the Frenchman.

However, the latest rumors suggest that Tom Aspinall has been asked to vacate.

In a recent video, Josh Thomson claimed that reports are out that the UFC has asked Tom Aspinall to vacate the heavyweight championship until he’s ready to fight again. The former UFC fighter alleges that Aspinall has responded by saying that he would be willing to do so as long as the promotion releases him.

“Reports are out that the UFC asked Tom Aspinall to vacate the title until he was ready to go, and he said he’ll be ready to vacate the title as long as they release him. Now that opens the door so he can go ahead and box. This is a really weird situation. The heavyweight division is just a total s**t show right now.”

Source: LowKickMMA.com