Tom Aspinall's decision to vacate the UFC heavyweight championship as he continues to deal with the fallout from the injuries suffered when he was poked in the eyes by Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 has left the division in a state of uncertainty. Since Aspinall and Gane went to a no contest as a result of Gane's fouls, a rematch between the two seemed the obvious course of action. That was only further cemented when Gane defeated Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn to capture the interim heavyweight crown.
Aspinall's return was delayed and delayed again as he has undergone a series of medical procedures to address the injuries to his eyes. In that time, the top fighters in the heavyweight division have largely continued to cannibalize each other, a pattern that dates back years now. In part, the division's larger issues began when the UFC and Francis Ngannou split amid contract disputes.
Ngannou had established himself as the best heavyweight in the world, but only defended the championship once (defeating Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022) after knocking out Stipe Miocic to claim the belt. After Ngannou was stripped of the belt while leaving the UFC, Jon Jones made a long-awaited move to heavyweight where he won the vacant belt with a quick submission of Gane. Jones was to defend the belt against Miocic, a fight that didn't take place until 20 months after Jones won the title.
While Jones dealt with injuries and the delay in fighting Miocic, Aspinall won the interim heavyweight title by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall waited and waited for a shot at Jones that never came, with Jones choosing to retire and vacate the belt, leading to Aspinall being promoted to undisputed champion. Finally at the top of the heavyweight mountain, Aspinall's eyes met Gane's fingers in his first defense of the title, and now he has also been forced to vacate the title.
Since Ngannou was stripped of the championship on Jan. 14, 2023, there have only been three fights for the undisputed heavyweight championship. And three consecutive champions have either been stripped of or chosen to vacate the title. The obvious next step for the division is for Gane to be promoted from interim to undisputed heavyweight champion.
That's noteworthy, as Gane had thrice failed to win the undisputed title, losing to Ngannou in 2022, Jones in 2023 and battling to a no contest with Aspinall in 2025. Beyond Gane, the division is a tangled web of fighters who have questionable cases for inclusion in the title picture. Let's take a look at the top 10 fighters in the official UFC Media Rankings to get a better look at the state of the division.
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