Tom Aspinall had chased the UFC heavyweight championship since the age of 10. At 33, he has handed it back. A serious eye injury has forced the Briton, whose record stands at 15 wins, three defeats and one no contest, to declare the belt vacant, and he has not been able to step into the octagon since October. His fight with Ciryl Gane was stopped after a finger caught him in the eye, an incident that left him with double vision and required several operations.
"I'm heartbroken, because I've been working towards this since I was 10 years old," Aspinall admitted once the decision had been taken. Yet he was quick to insist that the story is not over. "I'm not finished. Giving up the title doesn't mean walking away from the sport, or from the dream."
