Sports Betting News: UFC’s Tom Aspinall Undergoes Eye Surgery
Posted on: February 15, 2026, 01:18h.
Last updated on: February 15, 2026, 01:24h.
- Aspinall undergoes eye surgery, return date unknown
- Holloway has kind words for upcoming lightweight division opponent Oliveira
- NBA Commissioner: We have a tanking problem
The news isn’t good for UFC fans looking for a boost to the company’s faltering heavyweight division, hoping for a Tom Aspinall comeback.
The Manchester native underwent surgery on both eyes earlier this month to try and deal with the aftereffects of the eye gouging he received at the hands of Ciryl Gane in their title fight at UFC 321 in Dubai last October. That fight ended in a no contest, since Aspinall couldn’t see anything.
Gane poked Aspinall in his eyes several times during the fight, which didn’t get out of the first round. What came out of that fight, as is the case when you’re talking about social media, were legions of faceless naysayers, making accusations that Aspinall was looking for a way out of the Gane fight, that he was losing, and that he should have muscled through.
Uncertainty About the Heavyweight Division
What really bothered Aspinall were comments by UFC CEO Dana White post-fight that Aspinall chose not to continue the fight.
“Slightly disappointing, because he hadn’t spoke to me [when White made his comment after the fight],” Aspinall said on “The Ariel Helwani Show”. “[White] actually started giving updates that there was nothing wrong with my eyes when that isn’t the case right now … I feel I’ve done a lot for the UFC, so yeah, I am disappointment.”
Surgery on Both Eyes
More details were shared on Petesy Carroll’s Uncrowned podcast this week where Carroll talked about time he spent recently with Aspinall and his doctor. Aspinall talked about a black spot that’s in his eye, that’s there constantly. He is dealing with a double vision issue that makes him dizzy and nauseous when he tries to train, especially with footwork drills.
Carroll, reporting on the fighter’s serious “visual field defects”, wrote that Aspinall had to wait until the healing process on his eyes ran its course before any surgical procedure could take place. Aspinall is working to get back to some normalcy back in his life before he even starts to think seriously about a return to the Octagon.
Aspinall Still Favoured
As Carroll wrote, Aspinall said he still loves martial arts. But he hates the business side of it. What happens from here on it, and what happens with the UFC’s heavyweight division, is anyone’s guess. The only UFC heavyweight fight of note through the end of March (no fights have been announced beyond that) is No. 7 Serghei Spivac versus No. 9 Ante Delija at next Saturday’s UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center in Houston.
Still, Aspinall is -180 to be men’s UFC heavyweight champion on Dec. 31 2026, at DraftKings, followed by Gane (+400) and Jon Jones (+500), despite Jones still being retired.
NBA Commissioner: We Have a Problem
The NBA has a big problem – teams are tanking their seasons at a number and pace we’ve never seen, all openly trying to score the highest possible draft position for next June.
The NBA just fined the Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz $100,000 and $500,000 respectively for overt tanking around roster management.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, speaking at this weekend’s Allstar festivities, said it’s the worst in recent memory, and the league is working with the Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures and “root out this type of conduct.” Taking away draft picks is on the table, with the upcoming draft is expected to be one of the deepest in recent history. The NBA’s competitive integrity is on the line.
In the short-term, the NBA Allstar Game gets going today at 5 p.m. EST. At BetMGM, current outright winner odds are World at +155 (59.2% of tickets, 74.2% of handle), USA Stripes at +160 (20.5%, 16.6%) and USA Stars at +200 (20.3%, 9.3%).
Back to UFC
With Justin Gaethje’s win over Paddy Pimblett in a memorable lightweight interim title bout at UFC 324 still fresh in people’s memory banks, here comes another lightweight division matchup, at UFC 326 March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with No. 3 ranked Charles Oliveira versus No. 4 ranked Max Holloway, defending his BMF title. That’s a rematch of their first bout way back in 2015, at a UFC Fight Night in Saskatoon, Canada, when Holloway won by first round TKO.
Holloway is currently the betting favourite, at -200, at DraftKings, with Oliveira at +154. At FanDuel it’s Holloway -210, Oliveira +162. And at BetMGM odds are currently Holloway at -222, Oliveira at +165.
Holloway Betting Favourite
Oliveira is coming off a win by submission in round 2 over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Fight Night Oct. 11 in Brazil but unfortunately for him more memorable was a devastating first round knockout loss to current lightweight champ Ilia Topuria last June 28 at UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena.
Still, Holloway was very complimentary of his upcoming opponent this past week on YouTube.
“Oliveira? He’s just a killer,” he said. “Everyone knows about his jiu jitsu. His striking came a long way. If you see his finishes, a lot of the time it’s not Hail Mary submissions. He’s hurting them on the feet, then getting the submission. He’s a real mixed martial artist. Oliveira is dangerous everywhere.”
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