Tom Aspinall cleared to return to full sparring; awaits Pereira-Gane winner

Tom Aspinall announced that his eye injury is healing and he will soon receive medical clearance to resume full contact training. The UFC has informed Aspinall that his next fight will be against the winner of the upcoming Alex Pereira versus Ciryl Gane bout. Aspinall stated that those two need to fight first, recover from their contest, and then once everyone is ready, their fight can be scheduled. This suggests Aspinall is positioned as the next heavyweight title challenger pending the outcome of Pereira versus Gane. The timeline indicates Aspinall is on track to return later this year.