UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has lashed out at his rival Curtis Blaydes while confirming that he will have to undergo eye surgery for the damage he suffered after being poked in both eyes by him at UFC 321 in October.

The normally mild-mannered Aspinall’s frustration got the better of him after Blaydes posted an update on social media.

“Still no date or opponent yet… but we keep grinding and training hard before the holidays with my man @bambamtuivasa,” Gane wrote on Instagram.

While Blaydes didn’t make any mention of Aspinall in his post, the heavyweight champ soon put him on blast in the comments section.

“No sh*t there’s not a date yet,” Aspinall wrote. “I’m not medically cleared to fight and about to have surgery thanks to your disgusting fingernails. I’ll be back to smash your face in soon you cheat.”

Aspinall had hoped to avoid having to get surgery, but it seems that the rare bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome that he was diagnosed with after multiple visits with doctors over the past couple of months has now left him with no other choice.

Hopefully the operation will be successful and Aspinall and Blaydes can settle their differences in the Octagon at some stage in the first half of 2026.