Where things stand in the heavyweight division after champion Tom Aspinall vacates title

It's unclear what the next move is for the division now that Ciryl Gane will be moved to full champion

Sep 14, 2026 at 12:51 pm ET • 5 min read

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.

1. Ciryl Gane: As stated, Gane is likely to be the new champion. But it's strange to see a champion who has repeatedly failed to capture the title promoted to the position after winning an interim belt against a fighter who was making his division debut, as was the case for former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Pereira. And it also feels as though Gane is being rewarded for causing an injury to the champion who had to vacate the belt due to Gane's fouls.
2. Alexander Volkov: Volkov is the most deserving man for a heavyweight title shot. In all honesty, he should have been the man fighting Aspinall at UFC 321. When Gane and Volkov fought at UFC 310 in what was effectively a title eliminator, Gane was awarded a split decision win. Nineteen of 20 media outlets tracked by MMA Decisions scored the fight for Volkov. Volkov has wins over ranked fighters Sergei Pavlovich and Waldo Cortes-Acosta but has also lost to Gane (twice), Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes. A title shot doesn't seem to be in Volkov's immediate future as he is currently set to face Rizvan Kuniev at UFC 333.
3. Sergei Pavlovich: Pavlovich has only had two losses since 2019, those coming against Aspinall and Volkov. He also has wins over ranked fighters Lewis, Blaydes and Cortes-Acosta. Pavlovich has had plenty of success in the division, but with losses to two fighters above him in the decision, he needs to climb a bit higher to land in a title shot unless things break his way with other fighters.
4. Josh Hokit: Hokit is the new exciting heavyweight contender. He has looked fantastic thus far in his UFC career, running through opposition while also brandishing a big, controversial personality. Hokit has called for a shot at the title, including calling for a fight with Gane after Aspinall announced he was vacating the belt. The biggest mark against Hokit is that he has not fought many top fighters. Hokit won a tremendous fight with Curtis Blaydes, which he parlayed into a late spot at UFC Freedom 250 where he defeated Derrick Lewis, who looked largely uninterested in fighting.
5. Waldo Cortes-Acosta: Cortes-Acosta's position at No. 5 in the rankings is temporary. He lost this past Saturday to Blaydes and did not look good in defeat. He does hold wins over current top 15 fighters Serghei Spivac, Ante Delija and Lewis, but has lost to Pavlovich, Volkov and Blaydes, knocking him from elite contention, especially with the Volkov and Blaydes losses coming in his two most recent fights.
6. Curtis Blaydes: Blaydes is a tough out for anyone, but has found himself in more of a gatekeeper role for the division in current years. His win over Volkov is a great resume-booster, but he has lost to Lewis, Pavlovich and Hokit, making him a part of the muddy middle of the division.
7. Rizvan Kuniev: Kuniev is another Blaydes victim, but he has rattled off back-to-back wins since that loss, taking a decision over Jailton Almeida and then knocking out Tyrell Fortune. If Kuniev can beat Volkov in October, he'll launch himself up the rankings, but at 34 years old, it's a do-or-die fight for Kuniev.
8. Vitor Petrino: After losing back-to-back fights at light heavyweight, Petrino found new life in a 2025 move to heavyweight. He has four wins in the division, the most notable being a decision over Spivac in August. Petrino is a fighter to keep an eye on if he can continue rolling in his new division.
9. Serghei Spivac: While Spivac has wins over Delija and Lewis, he has proven to be well below championship caliber with losses to Gane, Cortes-Acosta, Almeida, Aspinall and others. Spivac is 1-3 since 2025.
10. Ante Delija: Delija knocked out Marcin Tybura in his UFC debut and has since lost to Cortes-Acosta and Spivac.

There are some other interesting names at heavyweight, including Valter Walker, who currently holds the No. 11 spot in the rankings and has rattled off a stunning five consecutive victories by way of leg lock.

Former Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson is also set for his second UFC fight this Saturday when he faces Sean Sharaf. Steveson is some way off of being a heavyweight title contender, with just four professional MMA bouts to date, none against anyone nearing elite competition, but he has the kind of background that makes him a big threat to anyone.