Tom Aspinall has vacated his UFC heavyweight title due to an ongoing eye injury. Former UFC heavyweight contender Stefan Struve has closely followed Tom Aspinall throughout his UFC career. Now working as an analyst for Eurosport Nederland, ‘The Skyscraper’ shines a light on the current state of the heavyweight division.
In an exclusive interview with Heavy.com, Struve gave his opinion on Aspinall vacating his title. He also weighs in on the highly controversial clash between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira, while offering an insider’s perspective on the overall depth and strength of the current heavyweight landscape.
Hopeful For The Future
“Honestly, it’s just a tragedy that someone in their absolute prime has to vacate the title for reasons like this. I kind of saw it coming, but it’s so frustrating not knowing when—or even if—he’ll ever be back. I completely get why he delayed the decision, because he obviously had high hopes his eye would heal. But suffering another setback in training just makes a tough situation even worse. Looking back, Dana White’s comments definitely didn’t help. Overall, it’s just incredibly sad to see him give up the belt,” Struve said.
Struve followed Aspinall through his UFC career because of his work for Eurosport Nederland.
“Having transitioned from being a former UFC fighter to working as an analyst for Eurosport Nederland, I’ve had the privilege of following Tom’s career closely, and I know him personally. Aspinall is an absolute gem of a guy. I’ve witnessed his entire rise in the UFC, from his statement win against Alexander Volkov in London, through the heartbreak of his injury against Curtis Blaydes, to his incredible comeback against Marcin Tybura. We even covered his journey out in the US. Last year, we filmed a fight breakdown with him and his dad, and they are both just amazing people. To me, Tom is the total package, a true champion inside and outside the cage. As a former fighter myself, it deeply hurts to see someone sidelined by injuries right in the absolute prime of their career,” Struve said.
Aspinall Is Already One Of The Greatest
“From a purely technical standpoint, Aspinall is already one of the greatest heavyweights we’ve ever seen. He combines physical strength, elite cardio, and devastating knockout power. In his last outing against Ciryl Gane, he didn’t look quite as sharp as usual. Personally, I attribute that to his lack of recent cage time leading up to that fight. I still have absolute faith that he’ll return in even better form once his eye is fully healed. Moving forward, my hope is that once he’s back, we’ll get to see him stay active and compete every five months,” Struve said.
With Aspinall vacating the title, Gane is now the undisputed heavyweight champion. There is a lot of controversy regarding Gane’s tactics, including in his most recent fight for the interim title against Alex Pereira. Struve also shared his opinion on that.
Gane Best-Moving Heavyweight
“I was really curious about why Alex Pereira looked so heavy in that fight. If they run the rematch, I hope he scales back and stays closer to his light-heavyweight frame. I wasn’t in his camp, so I’m just speculating, but it felt like he overdid the bulk. Speed is absolute currency at heavyweight, especially when you’re dealing with someone like Ciryl Gane, who is arguably the best-moving heavyweight of all time. Gane is incredibly elite, but there’s a dirty element to his game.”
“Frankly, he doesn’t care about it because he’s never penalized. It even paved his way to the undisputed title now that Tom Aspinall had to vacate it due to the eye injury Gane caused. When Gane smells blood, his instinct is to destroy you, and you can’t blame a guy for pushing the boundaries if there are no consequences. He’s a phenomenal fighter, but I genuinely hope those fouls disappear from his game,” Struve said.
“I still firmly believe Alexander Volkov won that second fight against Ciryl Gane. In an ideal world, Aspinall vs. Volkov 2 was the logical fight to make, but since Gane walked away with the decision on the scorecards, that door closed. Regardless, I still think Volkov deserves the next title shot. Looking at the rest of the division, Josh Hokit is a guy who definitely talks the talk and walks the walk, but he needs at least one more marquee win to earn a title shot. Personally, I’d love to see him fight Alex Pereira. Hokit has talked an incredible amount of smack to Pereira, and while trash talk shouldn’t just hand you a fight, Pereira absolutely deserves the chance to land his signature left hook on his chin. As for Sergei Pavlovich, I haven’t been impressed by him since Tom Aspinall finished him. He’s completely out of the title picture for now,” Struve said.
Heavyweight Division Doesn’t Lack Talent
Struve doesn’t agree with the narrative that the heavyweight division is lacking talent.
“I completely disagree with the narrative that the heavyweight division is weak or lacking talent. Losing Tom Aspinall right now is obviously a massive blow to the division, but we have serious new blood coming through with guys like Josh Hokit and Gable Steveson. Steveson only has one fight under his belt, so he still needs time to develop, but the potential is there. I’m also glad the UFC re-signed Robelis Despaigne, who I find highly impressive. They might have brought him in a bit too early during his first stint, so I just hope he’s spent his time away working hard on his takedown defense.”
“Look, I know people romanticize the era when Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Stipe Miocic, Alistair Overeem, and I were holding down the division. But don’t forget, those early days were pre-USADA, meaning some fighters might have looked a bit better back then than they actually were. It’s an absolute shame that Francis Ngannou left the promotion, and while building this division is never easy, I genuinely feel the UFC is doing everything in its power to make heavyweight as strong as possible,” Struve said.
Stefan Struve Talks Tom Aspinall Injury, Names Next Challenger