What Does the UFC Do With Its Heavyweight Division?
Posted on: December 4, 2025, 03:49h.
Last updated on: December 4, 2025, 03:50h.
- Aspinall says he out, likely for the long term, looking at eye surgery
- Does UFC vacate the heavyweight title or wait for an Aspinall-Gane rematch?
- UFC 323 set for this Saturday in Las Vegas
On the eve of UFC 323, scheduled for this Saturday in Las Vegas – headlined by Merab Dvalishvili defending his bantamweight title against Petr Yan – comes news that has cast a pall over the heavyweight division.
Current champ Tom Aspinall has been speaking the past few days, and his health doesn’t sound promising.
His title defence against Ciryl Gane in Abu Dhabi in October was biblically disappointing, most of all we are sure for UFC CEO Dana White. That was supposed to be Aspinall’s moment, coming out for the first time as undisputed heavyweight champion after Jon Jones retired.
Eye Gouging
But it all unravelled after Aspinall got poked in the eye in the first round. The fight was ruled a no-contest and Aspinall was taken to a local hospital. What followed was a tsunami of negativity and criticism from fans and fellow fighters directed at the heavyweight, suggesting he should have toughed it out and continued.
Aspinall went on “The Ariel Helwani Show” this week and talked about how he’s now looking at surgery on both eyes, getting an injection in the one eyeball, and how disappointment he was with White. What bothered Aspinall was White’s claim in the post-fight news conference that Aspinall chose not to continue the fight. They haven’t spoken since.
“Slightly disappointing, because he hadn’t spoke to me [when White made his comment after the fight],” Aspinall said. “[White] actually started giving updates that there was nothing wrong with my eyes when that isn’t the case right now … I feel I’ve done a lot for the UFC, so yeah, I am disappointment.”
Aspinall Doesn’t Know When He Will Make It Back
The UFC has asked Aspinall when he thinks he will be back.
“I’m not in a position to be able to answer that right now,” he told Helwani. “We sent them all the doctors reports … so that’s all we can do.”
He’s not even cleared to train, he told Helwani, adding he’s had double vision, and can only do light cardio, a few weights. Aspinall described it as an “eye gouge” in both eyes, not an eye poke, and that Gane cheated. Aspinall said he has fought with one eye before, but never experienced anything as bad as this. White said post-fight that a rematch will happen.
“I am not going to carry on in a fight that I am not going to win because someone else is cheating and I can’t see,” Aspinall said.
White House UFC Event Next Summer
“I am the friggin’ heavyweight champion of the world. Don’t forget it. I earned my way to this spot. I want to get back as soon as possible. [The doctors] don’t know when I will be back at the moment.”
Makes one wonder what White has planned for the heavyweight division since Aspinall’s return date is unknown. As has been reported, Jon Jones, who retired in June, is training and wants back in – especially for that UFC event on the lawn of the White House in June, to help celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
That’s something that U.S. President Donald Trump has wanted for a long time and he’s good friends with White, so it’s going to happen in a big way. You don’t stage an event at the White House and fill the card with no name fighters.
Aspinall would have been ideal for that event.
What Do Sportsbook Traders Think?
According to Mark Collier, a trader with BetVictor, betting numbers for Aspinall-Gane were “solid without being outstanding.”
“However with how the bout ended, we will never know if the fight in running would have reached elite levels,” he said. “The heavyweight division has always been hit or miss in terms of popularity. Jon Jones for example has always been light heavyweight (certainly until the final few fights) and his back and forth bouts with Daniel Cormier or even the likes of Alexander Gustafsson were at LH so heavyweight has been an average division since as far back as Cain Velasquez versus Junior dos Santos.
“Francis Nganou helped the division for his sheer finishing ability but on reflection, it’s still the likes of Conor McGregor in the lighter divisions and even Ronda Rousey when finishing opponents in a blink of an eye that will always top the popularity charts.”
Will Aspinall being out for at least the first half of 2026 force the UFC to vacate the belt, Collier asked?
Vacate the Belt?
“It would certainly be the wrong message if Dana White makes him vacate and puts Gane in for the a title that’s for sure,” said Cormier. “Ultimately, the heavyweight division is limited to say the least, so I reckon Aspinall will be given the time he needs to recover, get back into training then likely fight Gane again after the summer. This is all assumption of course but I reckon the betting/popularity will resume if or when this timeline unfolds.”
No comments yet