Tom Aspinall vacates the UFC heavyweight title after a new eye injury, and Ciryl Gane is next in line

Tom Aspinall vacates the UFC heavyweight title. The champion announced on September 14 that a sparring accident had further damaged his right eye, after he had already agreed to a fight date, and that he cannot get medically cleared. He is not retiring. Two days after Dana White said the UFC would talk about his status, the decision is made, and interim champion Ciryl Gane is expected to take over.

Key takeaways

Tom Aspinall (15-3) vacated the UFC heavyweight title on September 14, saying an accident in sparring caused further damage to his right eye and he cannot get medically cleared.
He had not fought since UFC 321 on October 25, 2025, when eye pokes from Ciryl Gane ended the fight as a no contest; he has had multiple surgeries since.
Gane (14-2), interim champion since stopping Alex Pereira in June, is expected to be elevated to undisputed champion; the UFC had not formally confirmed it at the time of writing.

Why Tom Aspinall vacates the title now

A comeback stopped in sparring

Aspinall had been working toward a return. In his statement he explained that he had agreed to a fight date and was back sparring when the new injury happened. “I had previously agreed to a fight date and was back sparring, feeling great and ready to compete when an accident caused further damage to my right eye,” he wrote.

That second blow changed the timeline. “This means more time away from the sport, and right now, the timing of my return is unclear,” he added. With no clearance in sight, he made the call himself: “I’ve now made the decision to vacate the heavyweight title.”

Gutted, and pointing at the fouls

The tone was raw. “I’m absolutely gutted. I’ve chased this dream since I was 10 years old,” Aspinall said, and he made clear where he thinks the problem started, saying many of his complications are the result of fouls that changed the course of his career.

Eleven months without a fight

From UFC 321 to the decision

Aspinall’s last appearance was his first defense of the undisputed title, against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on October 25, 2025. It ended in the first round as a no contest after Gane’s fingers went into his eyes. Multiple surgeries followed, and the recovery kept stretching.

The pressure built in public. On September 12, at the Zuffa Boxing press conference in Las Vegas, Dana White said the UFC would “definitely be talking about” the champion’s status, pointing to Valentina Shevchenko, who gave up her flyweight belt while injured. Two days later, Aspinall took the decision out of the promotion’s hands.

Not a retirement

Aspinall was explicit that the belt and his career are two different things. He is 33, he has repeatedly rejected talk of leaving the UFC, and his statement ends on a promise to get cleared and fight again.

Stepping away from the title is not stepping away from the sport or the dream. I'll continue doing everything I can to get healthy, get cleared and get back to competing as soon as possible.
— Tom Aspinall, on Instagram

What happens to the heavyweight title

Ciryl Gane in position

The division already has a titleholder in waiting. Ciryl Gane (14-2) won the interim belt in June at UFC Freedom 250 by stopping Alex Pereira in the second round, and he is expected to be elevated to undisputed champion. The UFC had not formally announced the promotion when this article was written.

Gane’s path as champion is not simple. Pereira has been pushing for a rematch after complaining about blows to the back of the head in their fight, and the man who never lost the belt in the cage, Aspinall, intends to come back.

A title picture reset

For the heavyweights, the freeze is over. The title can now be defended and fought for on a normal schedule, and every contender who waited through Aspinall’s absence has a clearer road to the champion.

Follow the new heavyweight picture with real numbers

Tom Aspinall’s and Ciryl Gane’s full records and the current heavyweight rankings are in the FightHub app, updated as the UFC reshapes the division. Download it to see who is next in line for the belt.