UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall underwent knee surgery on Wednesday to repair his torn MCL and some damage to his meniscus and right ACL.
Aspinall suffered a fifteen-second TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes at UFC London last month where the former blew out his knee after throwing a leg kick in the opening round. Aspinall had to be stretchered out of the Octagon and immediately taken to the hospital.
Despite suffering such a huge setback and a potentially career-threatening injury, Aspinall is in good spirits and optimistic about the future. The British standout provided a positive update on his recovery just hours before he underwent surgery yesterday.
“Good morning, everybody,” Aspinall said on Instagram. “Today is surgery day. I’m in London right now and I’m absolutely starving because I can’t eat before surgery. I have suffered a torn MCL, a torn meniscus, and some ACL damage. So I’m going to get that fixed today, but just a quick message just to say thank you for all the support. I really appreciate it. I’ve had so much love since the accident, and I’ll see everybody on the other side. Peace out.”
“Success! Wait until you see me with two legs,” Aspinall posted after he got out of surgery, confirming that the operation was successful.
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Aspinall was on an eight-fight win streak before his TKO loss to Blaydes, with a win expected to catapult him into title contention. The 29-year-old is one of the hottest prospects in British MMA, with UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping tipping him to become the next British UFC champion.
Given the severity of his injury, it could be at least a full year until we see Aspinall back inside the Octagon. He is currently #6 in the UFC heavyweight rankings but could fall a few spots over the next twelve months due to inactivity.
