Tom Aspinall hailed as ‘honorable’ as Chael Sonnen admits he was wrong about the eye injury

Tom Aspinall has had another setback in his recovery, and some of his critics are finally changing their tunes.

The British heavyweight has not competed since UFC 321 last October, when his first defense of the undisputed title ended in disastrous fashion.

Ciryl Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes, leading to a No Contest in the very first round. The Frenchman’s fouls resulted in double eye surgery for the now-former champion, who has decided to vacate the throne.

As he stares down the barrel of another potential surgery and a continued stay on the sidelines, it is safe to say that those who questioned Aspinall’s injury 11 months ago have been proved wrong.

After initially returning to training and announcing he was set to return soon, Aspinall vacated the UFC heavyweight title following a new setback with his eyes.

Despite being vocal about the severity of the injury and discussing how it has impacted his everyday life, a number of fans and fighters continued to doubt its legitimacy.

At least one prominent name has backtracked on his initial criticism of Aspinall’s decision not to fight on against Gane in Abu Dhabi.

“I’m one of those fans (who questioned Aspinall’s injury)… we got this wrong,” Chael Sonnen said during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. “Guys get poked in the eye all the time and they keep on fighting.

“We didn’t know. We got it wrong, and I feel terrible for the guy. If there’s any injury I could have, the last one I would want is something with my eye. That’s a very real life thing that can impact you.

“I do think it was handled right,” he continued. “I do think it was handled with grace, and I think that, aside from the UFC doing it right, Tom did a tremendous job.

“I think it’s a very honorable thing. I think everybody here did everything right.”

Aspinall’s decision to relinquish the belt has resulted in the man who injured him being elevated to undisputed status.

Gane will now await his first defense, which could come in the form of an immediate rematch if Alex Pereira gets his wish to run it back with ‘Bon Gamin’ after their UFC Freedom 250 bout.