UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall nearly hung up the gloves not long before a traumatic injury suffered against Curtis Blaydes.

Tom Aspinall will make his first title defense as undisputed UFC heavyweight champion later this month at UFC 321. Aspinall and former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane headline a stacked card in Abu Dhabi, which marks Aspinall’s first fight in more than a year.

Before his current UFC success, Aspinall’s swift ascent was brought to a screeching halt when he suffered a major leg injury against Curtis Blaydes in July 2022. Just 15 seconds into the fight, Aspinall snapped his leg and was sidelined for a full year before resuming his career.

For Aspinall, it marked a big setback in his career and the first piece of adversity faced inside the cage. But the incident was the turning point after he contemplated quitting MMA months before suffering the injury.

Tom Aspinall explains how nasty leg injury changed trajectory of his UFC career forever

In a recent sitdown with TNT Sports, Aspinall opened up on one of the darkest moments of his life and career.

“There were long, drawn-out bouts of feeling in a really dark place,” Aspinall said. “To be honest, before the injury, I was half in the sport and half out. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to carry on.

“I was doing things I shouldn’t have been doing outside the gym, my recovery was non-existent, the training was in a bad situation,” Aspinall explained. “There were a lot of things that should’ve been changed.” (h/t Bloody Elbow)

Luckily, Aspinall changed his ways, and he’s become one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. A win over Gane could potentially lure Jon Jones back to the Octagon for a fight at The White House next year.

Jones announced his retirement in June, vacating the UFC heavyweight belt, which was then given to Aspinall via promotion. But Jones has since pivoted on that stance and is hoping to return to the cage next year.