By admin 
On September 9, I wrote that UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall should vacate his title since he hasn’t fought in nearly a year due to eye injuries and did not have his next fight booked.
Five days later, what I wrote came to fruition, as Aspinall is no longer the champion.
Related: It’s Time For Tom Aspinall to Vacate the UFC Heavyweight Title
On Monday, September 14, Aspinall announced that he has vacated his title because he was not medically cleared to compete due to lingering eye issues.
“Ongoing complications with my eyes mean I cannot get medically cleared to fight right now,” Aspinall said in his official statement. “I’ve now made the decision to vacate the heavyweight title. I’ve asked the UFC to allow me to make this statement because I don’t want to hold the heavyweight division up.”
With Aspinall vacating his title, it is expected that interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane will be promoted to undisputed champion, though the UFC has not made a statement on the matter at this time of writing.
Tom Aspinall Did the Honorable Thing
As part of his statement, Aspinall noted that one of the reasons he was giving up his belt was because he wanted to do right by the rest of the UFC heavyweight division.
Instead of holding up the weight class any longer, Aspinall vacated the belt to allow other heavyweight fighters to reach their goals and dreams in their MMA careers.
“I know what it’s like to have your career put on hold and I want the other fighters to have the opportunity to compete for the title,” Aspinall said.
It was the honorable thing for Aspinall to do, and though it wasn’t an easy decision for him to vacate his title, you have to commend him for making this choice.
With Aspinall vacating his belt, the UFC heavyweight division can get going again, as Gane can not defend his belt against one of the weight class’s other top contenders.
It’s unfortunate that Aspinall’s title reign ended this way, as the eye injury he suffered against Gane was not his fault.
But this is what happened, and now the weight class has to move on without him as the champion.
Who Will Get the Next UFC Heavyweight Title Shot?
With Aspinall no longer the UFC heavyweight champion, Gane will defend the title next, as his interim belt will become the undisputed title.
For his first title defense, it is very possible that Gane will fight Alex Pereira in a rematch after knocking him out at UFC Freedom 250 in June to claim the interim title.
In that fight, Gane hit Pereira with several shots to the back of the head that left the Brazilian stunned.
However, referee Herb Dean did not take any points from Gane, and he was not punished for the fouls.
Pereira has whined about the result of that fight for months, and it looks like his whining might be enough to earn him a rematch with Gane, potentially in the headliner of UFC 334, which takes place on November 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
If it’s not Pereira, then Josh Hokit — who is 4-0 in the UFC — makes a ton of sense as well, as that’s a fresh fight for Gane.
Sergei Pavlovich, the Russian knockout artist, cannot be discounted, either, as he would be a new fight for Gane, and a very fun one, at that.
But it does feel like Gane vs. Pereira 2 is going to be the next UFC heavyweight title fight.
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 1:42 PM.