Ciryl Gane New Heavyweight Champion After Tom Aspinall Vacates Title
The two-time interim champion Ciryl Gane takes the undisputed heavyweight champion title after Tom Aspinall vacates the title
Ciryl Gane was elevated to UFC Heavyweight Champion Monday morning after Tom Aspinall vacated the belt.
Ciryl Gane Interim Champion No More
The two-time interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane is all set to be the next undisputed heavyweight champion. This title win is especially relevant as Tom Aspinall’s relinquished the title directly after their vicious bout in 2025. Gane injured the English fighter with a brutal double eye poke in the first round, ending the fight in a no-contest.
🚨🇫🇷 BREAKING: Ciryl Gane will now become the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, following the news of Tom Aspinall vacating. pic.twitter.com/HmwCoNSWnr
Later, 'Bon Gamin' had challenged Aspinall for a rematch after winning against Alex Pereira in June 2026. “Let's do that in Paris in September”, said the Frenchman. Aspinall, too, came back at it with “I'll go to Paris. Let me know. I'll be there," on his YouTube channel.
However, Aspinall’s decision to vacate his title scrapped the rematch completely. On his Instagram, he confirmed, “I had previously agreed to a fight date and was back sparring,” but an accident caused further damage to his right eye. Bringing him and the fans to the heartbreaking realization: “right now, the timing of my return is unclear,”.
Although Gane never publicly opened up about wanting the Englishman to vacate the title, fighters like Henry Cejudo had advocated for it. “If you're hurt and you're unwilling to compete, vacate the belt, let somebody be called undisputed until you're actually back," Cejudo said on his "Pound-4-Pound" podcast.
“The fans deserve Me vs Gane” Josh Hokit Challenges Ciryl Gane
As the heavyweights find themselves in a position of abrupt disarray, Josh Hokit has stepped in with an appeal to fight Gane for the title Belt.
This contentious heavyweight has had success with the UFC so far. Wins over Max Gimenis, Denzel Freeman, and Derrick Lewis and a fight-of-the-year contender clash with Curtis Blaydes have placed Hokit squarely at the upper echelons of his division.
He saw the opportunity and chose social media to call his shot.
“The fans deserve Me vs Gane. I’ll give Ciryl what he has coming,” Hokit wrote on X (formerly Twitter) two hours after Aspinall’s announcement. “If Alex can win 1 fight in my weight class, I’ll give it to him too, early ‘27. I’ll be the most active champ in the company.”
The fans deserve Me vs Gane. I’ll give Ciryl what he has coming.
— The Incredible Hok (@Josh_HokitUFC) September 14, 2026
If Alex can win 1 fight in my weight class, I’ll give it to him too, early ‘27.
I’ll be the most active champ in the company. https://t.co/fdtRFTL2G8
It’s rarely a surprise, given the American fighter has been eyeing a title fight for quite some time, especially with Gane. In August 2026, Hokit called out Gane, insisting the Frenchman should cherish the chance of facing him.
"The Incredible Hok says Ciryl Gane should be excited to fight him because this will be the 3rd time in his career that people will tune in to see a press conference that he was a part of… New Jersey, DC & TBD," Hokit said. "Incredible Hok says Ciryl might even get cheered for the 1st time in his career."
The Incredible Hok says @ciryl_gane should be excited to fight him because this will be the 3rd time in his career that people will tune in to see a press conference that he was a part of.....New Jersey, DC & TBD. Incredible Hok says Ciryl might even get cheered for the 1st time…
— The Incredible Hok (@Josh_HokitUFC) August 22, 2026
