On September 14, Tom Aspinall stunned everyone by announcing he had vacated the heavyweight championship. In an Instagram post, the Brit somberly revealed that lingering eye issues from Ciryl Gane’s UFC 321 eye poke had made his comeback uncertain. With Aspinall dethroned, interim champion Gane was expected to become the new undisputed champion, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In a recent interview with Sportsnet, Dana White clarified the Frenchman’s title status. According to the UFC CEO, Gane remains the interim champion because he will still need to fight for the undisputed belt. 

“Does it make him the undisputed champion?” White said. “No, he still gotta fight. Very soon. Well, I mean, we’ll see how this whole thing plays out with Aspinall. Ciryl will fight, and we’ll see who becomes the champion.  

“I mean, this isn’t like this is the first time this has ever happened. This is nothing new. This happens sometimes. It’s unfortunate. This is not the best outcome, but it is what it is.”    

Dana White’s revelation definitely made Ciryl Gane’s situation interesting. By definition, an interim titleholder serves as a temporary champion when the reigning champion can’t defend the belt because of an injury or other circumstances. In those cases, UFC normally elevates its interim to undisputed status, especially when the reigning champion vacates the title.

In fact, The promotion elevated Tom Aspinall from interim to undisputed after Jon Jones vacated the belt last year. Interestingly, ‘Bon Gamin’ didn’t receive the same treatment. Perhaps Dana White and the matchmakers are planning an undisputed heavyweight championship fight for one of their upcoming marquee events.

However, this isn’t the first time the UFC has opted not to immediately promote an interim champion. 

In 2017, Tony Ferguson won the interim championship by defeating Kevin Lee at UFC 216. The following year, Dana White announced that the UFC had decided to strip Conor McGregor of his lightweight title because of inactivity. However, that didn’t make ‘El Cucuy’ the undisputed champion directly. Instead, the promotion booked Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov for the vacant title at UFC 223 in 2018.

Unfortunately, Ferguson withdrew from the lightweight title bout because of a knee injury. Al Iaquinta ultimately replaced him and faced Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223. The Dagestani went on to win a lopsided unanimous decision, becoming the new lightweight champion.

With Dana White making it clear that Gane will need to fight for the undisputed belt, there are already some obvious matchups in store for him. However, a former UFC heavyweight fighter has picked a very interesting matchup for the vacant heavyweight championship.  

Stefan Struve reveals ideal opponent for Ciryl Gane in heavyweight title fight 

Currently, Alex Pereira is rallying for a rematch against Ciryl Gane. The Brazilian feels he’s due another clash with ‘Bon Gamin’ because of the controversy surrounding his second-round loss at the UFC White House event. Meanwhile, top contender Josh Hokit regularly takes to social media to tell ‘Poatan’ that he doesn’t deserve a shot at the heavyweight gold. Plus, the Californian believes he should be facing Gane next.

Both of them have called out the interim champion for a showdown at UFC 334, which is currently scheduled for Madison Square Garden. And to be honest, Gane facing either of them would be a complete sellout. However, former UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve believes the Frenchman’s ideal opponent would be Alexander Volkov because of their history.

“I still firmly believe Alexander Volkov won that second fight against Ciryl Gane,” Struve told Heavy. “In an ideal world, Aspinall vs. Volkov 2 was the logical fight to make, but since Gane walked away with the decision on the scorecards, that door closed.

“Regardless, I still think Volkov deserves the next title shot. Looking at the rest of the division, Josh Hokit is a guy who definitely talks the talk and walks the walk, but he needs at least one more marquee win to earn a title shot.”

At present, Ciryl Gane boasts two victories over Alexander Volkov. He beat the Russian fair and square at their 2021 Fight Night event, winning the fight via unanimous decision. However, their second clash at UFC 310 was embroiled in controversy. Many felt Volkov did more than enough to win the fight, but the judges awarded Gane a split-decision victory.

After the bout, a baffled Dana White reached out to Volkov backstage and apologized for the decision. Despite that, ‘Drago’ has defeated two contenders since his debated loss to Gane. Because of this, fans and experts like Struve feel Volkov should get the shot instead of Pereira or Hokit.

That said, the ultimate decision rests with the UFC, and we can only wait until the promotion reveals its plans.