9/14/26
Tom Aspinall officially vacates the heavyweight title after a long time away from the octagon due to his eye injury in his title fight against Cyril Gane. Cyril Gane won the interim title against Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 in a controversial win, but he will now fight for the undisputed belt in his next bout. Aspinall has been holding on to hope that he would be cleared to fight soon, but more time continues to pass with little improvement in his recovery. There is no telling when he will actually return, but he says right now it is not possible.
Who will Cyril Gane be fighting, though, is the question? Alex Pereira went on social media and said that he believes that he will get a rematch with Gane in his next fight. While the end of their last bout was controversial, Gane was dominating Pereira until that point and did drop him cleanly. If not Pereira, there are other options at play. Josh Hokit has become one of the most polarizing figures in the sport for his WWE-like promos, trash talk, and constant antics online and in person. While fans are split on him, he keeps winning and does it dominantly. He is a potential next fight for Gane. Waldo Cortes Acosta is the #5-ranked heavyweight and just got a win over Curtis Blaydes in his last fight at UFC Noche. He could also be a potential option for the current interim champ.
For more information on Aspinall’s vacancy, click here: Tom Aspinall vacates UFC heavyweight title due to ‘ongoing’ complications with eye injury