A few days ago, Tom Aspinall officially vacated the UFC heavyweight title after nearly a year on the sidelines. The Englishman relinquished the belt after his last fight at UFC 321 in October 2025 against Ciryl Gane. That night, disaster struck when a double eye poke from Gane forced the fight to end in a no-contest.
Aspinall has been out of action ever since. He was later diagnosed with the rare bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome and has since undergone double eye surgery. Eddie Hearn recently revealed that Aspinall needed more time to undergo additional tests before he could be 100% healthy.
Fans initially expected Aspinall to potentially face Gane in a title unification bout at UFC Paris, especially after the former champion revealed in June that he had returned to sparring and accepted the Frenchman’s verbal callout. However, Aspinall was instead expected to headline UFC 334 in November at the annual Madison Square Garden event.
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But further damage during training and a third surgery on his right eye completely derailed those plans. Amid all this, fans expected Gane to be promoted to undisputed champion after winning the interim gold in June by beating Alex Pereira. However, that will not happen. Dana White confirmed that the Frenchman will have to fight for the undisputed title inside the Octagon rather than being automatically promoted.
Speaking about the situation for the first time since Aspinall’s announcement, White said Gane will need to compete and will not automatically be elevated from interim to undisputed. In an interview with Sportsnet, he said, “Does it make (Gane) the undisputed champion? No. He’s still gotta fight.”
🚨 BREAKING: Dana White says Ciryl Gane will NOT be promoted to undisputed heavyweight champion and must fight for the title
He also says Gane will fight “very soon” 👀
(via @Sportsnet)pic.twitter.com/dxJDWy8VEq
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 19, 2026
The UFC CEO added, “We’ll see how this whole thing plays out with Aspinall,” White said. “Ciryl will fight, and we’ll see who becomes the champion. I mean, this isn’t the first time that this has ever happened. It’s happening right now with Valentina Shevchenko too, so this is nothing new. This happens sometimes. It’s unfortunate; it’s not the best outcome, but it is what it is.”
White also hinted that a fight for Gane is already in the works and could soon be made official. The update comes as things continue to move in the 265-pound division, with the likes of Alex Pereira and Josh Hokit teasing that they have fight news on the way.
Pereira recently stirred up more chatter online after posing for a photo following a meeting with Hunter Campbell, fueling rumors of an immediate rematch with Gane. The Brazilian had recently demanded a rematch with the Frenchman.
Meanwhile, Hokit has also teased that he could be in line for a title shot against Gane or, at the very least, a title eliminator against someone like Sergei Pavlovich or Alexander Volkov. With Aspinall now out of the picture, it will be interesting to see how things play out in the 265-pound division.
Kshitiz Kumar Singh is a UFC Writer at NY Fights with over three years of experience in sports journalism and content creation. Known for his sharp storytelling and passion for combat sports, he has written in-depth features on stars like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Ilia Topuria. Before joining NY Fights, Kshitiz worked as a UFC Editor at EssentiallySports while currently serving as a WWE Editor at FirstSportz. His admiration for legends like Georges St-Pierre continues to inspire his detailed and engaging MMA coverage. Whether he’s covering the Octagon or the squared circle, Kshitiz is committed to delivering accurate, high-quality content. Outside the world of sports, he’s a dedicated cinephile, often found practicing monologues from his favorite Al Pacino films, combining his love for cinema with storytelling.
