Dana White Provides Update On UFC Heavyweight Title Picture

During a brief interview on Friday at the UFC 331 ceremonial weigh-in press event, Dana White revealed that Ciryl Gane will not be promoted from interim champion, despite Tom Aspinall relinquishing the undisputed title.

Aspinall has been sidelined since last October because of illegal eye-pokes that he suffered during his match versus Gane, which resulted in his first and only title defense appearance ending in a no contest. Aspinall’s team recently claimed he was nearing the ability to train at full pace with the hopes of establishing a return timeline. But earlier this week it was announced that the champion suffered a setback after getting hit during training and has decided to walk away from the title for now.

Aspinall held the interim heavyweight title for a lengthy period while he awaited his undisputed title match versus then-champion Jon Jones. But in a surprise turn, Jones decided to retire in June 2025, resulting in Aspinall’s title promotion. Because of this, the general expectation is that Gane would be elevated to undisputed champion following the news of the title once again being relinquished.

But now, the idea of Gane being elevated from interim champion to undisputed has been squashed by the UFC CEO, who says Gane will have to fight for the crown. At this time, there is no word on who Gane will face in the title match, but many see Alexander Volkov as a real possibility given his high rank and consistency in the division over the course of the last decade. Outspoken American Josh Hokit has also voiced interest in the match, as well as Alex Pereira, who is no doubt looking for redemption following his setback against Gane at UFC Freedom 250 in June.

🚨 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