Former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic praised Tom Aspinall for vacating his belt and letting the division move on due to his injury.
Aspinall suffered an eye injury after being poked in the eye by Ciryl Gane in their UFC 321 heavyweight title fight in October 2025. The fight ended in a No Contest, and after Aspinall underwent several eye surgeries, he was hopeful to get a doctor’s clearance to fight again.
But he still hasn’t been cleared to fight, so instead of holding up the division any longer, he vacated his title, elevating Gane from interim champ to undisputed champ.
While a tough decision, it’s one that showed how much respect Aspinall has for the sport and for his weight class, and it’s a decision that Miocic, arguably the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time, commends him for making.
Stipe Miocic Reacts to Tom Aspinall Vacating His Title
Speaking to casino.org/us via Athlon Sports, Miocic showered Aspinall with praise for his selfless decision to vacate his title.
“Looking at Tommy’s situation, I just think ‘good of him to do that’. I understand it’s probably hard for him to vacate his title the way he did. I give him kudos for doing that because I know it’s hard for him. He was on top of the world, and then everything changed,” Miocic said.
Stipe Miocic Suffered Similar Eye Injury
According to Miocic, he also suffered an eye injury in his career, so he can relate to what Aspinall is going through right now and understands why he decided to give up his belt.
“He got an eye poke. I’ve been there; I’ve torn my retina before, and it’s tough. I just want to give him lots of credit for doing that,” Miocic said.
“It happened to me in my second fight with (Daniel Cormier at UFC 241). I got poked in the eye accidentally, and after the fight, I was kind of like, ‘Man, my eyes are kind of weird-looking and feeling weird.’ Unfortunately, these things happen, but he just has to move on from it and just see it as bad luck.”
Stipe Miocic Praises Tom Aspinall for Vacating UFC Belt