Tom Aspinall has vacated the UFC heavyweight title, ending a year long fight to get back into the cage after suffering eye complications in his bout with Ciryl Gane, according to The Body Lock.

Aspinall told the outlet, "Ongoing eye complications mean I cannot get cleared to fight right now." He also detailed the toll the recovery has taken, saying 'I've had multiple surgeries, accidents and infections, and done everything possible to get back to competing.'

Randy Couture reached out to Aspinall. Couture told The Body Lock, "It took me six months to recover from that," referencing his own experience with a similar injury, and added, 'I hope he recovers well, and I hope he gets back in there somewhere. Gane is coming off a June 14 win, a second round knockout finish of Alex Pereira. Our Elo model has Gane rated at 1577 across five bouts, just ahead of Aspinall's 1572 across three bouts, the two closest ratings in the weight class.

There is no word yet on when, or if, Aspinall will be cleared to compete again. He has been dealing with the injury for a full year now, and the language from both him and Couture suggests this is more than a short term absence.

Fans are already digging into the news on r/MMA, where a thread on Aspinall vacating the belt has drawn plenty of attention as the division works out what comes next for the now vacant title.