Dana White: Ciryl Gane Needs More Fights to Claim Title

Tom Aspinall has stepped aside. Ciryl Gane has the belt. Yet the UFC heavyweight throne is still officially empty.

UFC CEO Dana White made that crystal clear as he addressed the situation for the first time since Aspinall vacated his interim title.

“Does it make (Gane) the undisputed champion? No. He’s still gotta fight,” White told Sportsnet.

Aspinall has been out since suffering an eye injury in his title fight with Gane at UFC 321 last October, a setback serious enough to rule him out for the foreseeable future. While he’s been recovering, Gane surged ahead, claiming the interim heavyweight title by defeating Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250.

On paper, the next step looked obvious: run it back. Gane vs. Aspinall, part two, for undisputed status.

Reality cut that script short. With no clear timeline for his return, Aspinall chose to vacate, removing his name from the top of the bill and forcing the division to move on without him.

White has no intention of simply upgrading Gane’s status by default. The Frenchman may be wearing gold, but the UFC boss insists the real coronation still lies ahead.

Gane, White said, will have his next assignment announced “soon” — a fight expected to determine the new undisputed heavyweight champion.

“Ciryl will fight, and we’ll see who becomes the champion,” White said. “I mean, this isn’t the first time this has ever happened. It’s happening right now with Valentina Shevchenko too, so this is nothing now. This happens sometimes. It’s unfortunate; it’s not the best outcome, but it is what it is.”

The matchup options around Gane are already sparking debate.

Alex Pereira has done his part to stay in the conversation. He recently posed for a photo after a meeting with UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell, a single image that sent online speculation racing about an immediate rematch with Gane. Pereira hasn’t let their UFC Freedom 250 clash fade quietly, repeatedly voicing his anger over what he says were multiple shots to the back of his head during the fight.

The rankings board offers other, cleaner routes.

• In the official UFC heavyweight media rankings, Alexander Volkov sits at No. 2 behind Gane, with Sergei Pavlovich at No. 3.
• Both carry heavyweight power, both have the résumé to justify a shot at undisputed status, and both would give Gane a very different stylistic puzzle.
• Then there’s No. 4 Josh Hokit, another name gaining traction as a popular choice for the French interim champion’s next test.

The belt is on Gane’s shoulder for now. The crown, Dana White insists, still has to be earned in the cage.