Tom Aspinall Calls Out 'Cheat' Ciryl Gane for Rematch Remark Amid Injury From Eye Poke

Tom Aspinall had strong words for Ciryl Gane on social media after Gane said that he's still looking for a date and opponent for his next fight.

After Aspinall and Gane's bout in October was declared a no-contest because Gane poked him in the eye, Aspinall called him out.

"No s--t there's no date yet," Aspinall wrote. "I'm not medically cleared to fight and about to have surgery thanks to your dirty disgusting fingernails. I'll be back to smash your face soon cheat."

The fight between Aspinall and Gane was Aspinall's first official heavyweight title defense after winning the belt in 2023 when he downed Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. He also beat Curtis Blaydes last July to defend the title.

Aspinall and Gane were only in the first round of their bout when Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in the eye. After Aspinall was unable to continue, the fight was deemed a no contest and Aspinall retained his title.

After Aspinall was poked in the eye, he announced on Dec. 1 that he had bilateral traumatic Brown's syndrome. According to a medical letter featured in a video from Aspinall, "orthopedic evaluations demonstrated impaired binocular coordination and restricted ocular mobility."

"Ciryl Gane tried to make my head a bowling ball with the double eye poke knuckle deep in both," Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. "So, yeah, wouldn't recommend it at all."

Aspinall also provided an update about how he was doing in the YouTube video, and he let it be known that what he's dealing with is no joke.

"I'm doing alright, as good as I can be," he continued. "A lot of haters out there that think they're eye doctors. Listen ... I'll double eye poke you full blast in the eyes and see if you can still write some grim comment on Instagram or YouTube. You let me know, you tough guys out there who think you'll be able to carry on with one of the best strikers in the world when you can't see a thing. But there's been a lot of positivity out there, a lot of fighters backing me up."

While Gane's eye poke appeared to be an accident, Aspinall has maintained that he is a "big cheater."

"My thoughts on him? I think he's a big cheater," Aspinall said on YouTube. "Look at all his fights. Even Jon Jones himself said before he fought him that Ciryl Gane's a cheater and uses dirty tactics."

It's unclear when Aspinall will be able to return to fighting, but it appears he's ready for another matchup with Gane.