Aspinall must 'ignore' noise after eye surgery - Bisping

Aspinall spoke publicly about his frustrations to Yahoo,, external saying he loves MMA but "hates the business" and believes "fighters are just completely replaceable".

The Englishman has been the stand-out performer in the UFC's heavyweight division in recent years, with seven of his eight wins ending in the first round.

Aspinall has given no timeframe for his return to fighting as he waits to see if the surgery will correct his vision, but he could have another operation later this year if needed.

Aspinall spent 19 months as interim UFC champion before Jon Jones retired and his first defence as full champion ended in the first round against Gane and was declared a no-contest.

Bisping became the UK's first UFC champion three years after becoming legally blind in one eye.

The now retired fighter thinks the UFC may well look to move the division forward without Aspinall as he continues to recover.

"If Tom is on the sidelines right now and Jon Jones is actually retired because of all the arthritis in his hips, Alex Pereira, the next guy, is the most logical guy," he said.

"This is the world that we live in. The show must go on.

"I went through multiple eye surgeries. I wasn't in constant communication with the UFC. They weren't calling on me, checking on me."