Tom Aspinall announced on Monday that he was vacating his UFC heavyweight title after suffering a setback in his recovery following multiple surgeries to repair damage done to his eyes following a fight against Ciryl Gane back in 2025.
MMA
Matt Brown argues Tom Aspinall vacating heavyweight title creates more problems than it solves
Published
3 weeks agoon
It's a heartbreaking turn of events for Aspinall after he waited so long to become undisputed champion —while also trying to fight Jon Jones to for that title — but now he's out of action for an undetermined amount of time and the UFC has to figure out what to do with the heavyweight title. Technically, Ciryl Gane could easily just get promoted to undisputed champion after he defeated Alex Pereira at the UFC White House card to claim the interim belt but that doesn't solve the bigger problem when it comes to the overall heavyweight division.
Following his loss to Gane in June, Pereira went on the offensive claiming referee Herb Dean was partially to blame for his downfall after he failed to penalize Gane for illegal shots to the back of the head. Pereira has continued to call for a rematch and now it seems like he might actually get his wish but is that what's best for the Brazilian and the rest of the division?
“I think the downside of that fight – if Alex goes out and loses again, what does that do to his stock?†retired UFC welterweight Matt Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I know what he did at [middleweight and light heavyweight], it was amazing stuff. That shit's in the past. You're a heavyweight now.
“You lose twice, you're not fighting Tom Aspinall when Tom Aspinall comes back. I don't know what that does to his future of big fights. I don't know what big fights you make after that. That's what I mean by his stock. Everyone is going to respect Alex Pereira the same but what do “
There's little argument that Pereira is the biggest name at heavyweight right now as he already commands superstar status whenever he competes. If he can go out and avenge that past loss to Gane and become undisputed heavyweight champion, it's a history making moment for Pereira because he would be the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles across three divisions.
But the flipside to that result is Gane knocks out Pereira again and now one of the UFC's most popular fighters is stuck in limbo and the heavyweight diviiosn still doesn't look that much better in his absence.
“Maybe he beats Ciryl the next time. I would pick Ciryl to win, I picked him the first time but that's where it starts to hurt his stock at that point,†Brown said. “Guys can be resistant to that when you're Conor [McGregor level superstar] or Ilia [Topuria] or maybe even Alex but with him being 39 and you've got the other potentials in the division like [Josh Hokit] or Gable Steveson, if he loses that fight, the future doesn't look quite as bright for him as it's looked in the past.â€
While Gable Steveson is just starting out his UFC career, he's obviously got the potential to rescue the heavyweight division thanks to his wrestling pedigree where he's an Olympic gold medalist but he's probably still years away from compting for the belt.
The other option is the always outspoken Josh Hokit, who is undefeated and certainly not afraid to call his shot whenever he fights. The problem with Hokit is his outlandish behavior isn't exactly attractive for most fans and it's unclear if the powers-that-be at the UFC want to put a title around his waist.
Add to that, Brown acknowledges that Hokit's style could be a serious problem for anybody else at heavyweight including Gane and Pereira.
“Hokit's not a great matchup for [Pereira],†Brown said. “I'm sorry. I think it's a winnable fight for Alex and if Alex is able to win that fight, I think that's phenomenal win. It's going to get a lot of eyeballs, a lot of people would loves to see Hokit get knocked out.
“I think it would bring a lot more attention to Alex so it probably would be the fight to make. But that's not a bright future. If you lose to Ciryl Gane and then you're fighting Josh Hokit, that's not a great situation to be in.â€
As of now, the UFC hasn't made any announcements regarding the future of the heavyweight division with Aspinall vacating the belt and taking time off to recover from his eye injury.
It's impossible to know for sure what UFC CEO Dana White is going to decide but Brown knows the options are limited and not all that appealing right now.
“It sucks for Tom Aspinall,†Brown said. “It sucks for the UFC. It sucks for the fans. It just sucks for everyone involved.â€
Listen to new episodes of The Fighter vs. The Writer every Tuesday with audio only versions of the podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio
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MMA
Eddie Hearn calls Dana White ‘completely cooked’ over Fury-Joshua role
Published
5 hours agoon
October 5, 2026
Fury-Anthony
Joshua fight is official, but the promotional dispute between
Dana
White and Eddie Hearn shows no signs of fading.
Fury and Joshua are scheduled to meet Dec. 11 at Principality
Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, with the bout set to stream on Netflix.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO has maintained that he will
be involved with the event, while Hearn has repeatedly disputed his
role, with the latest point of contention centering on television
production.
Eddie Hearn disputes Dana White's claimed production role in
Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua
White was asked about the Fury-Joshua saga during the UFC
332 post-fight press conference, where he reiterated his
involvement in the heavyweight showdown and said the UFC's
production team is handling the event.
“We're producing the show. Just like Canelo-Crawford, same thing,â€
White said. “Craig Borsari, Zach, my whole team. We will be
producing the show. I'll have my little phone on the table just
like tonight and every other show that I produce. I'll be there.
I'm producing it. I'm promoting it. I'll see you in Wales.â€
Hearn responded during a recent press conference, disputing White's
claims.
“To be honest with you at this point, I think he's completely
cooked,†Hearn said. “What he actually said was, ‘We are doing the
TV production,' which again in the contract is prohibited.â€
Hearn said he subsequently contacted SELA, the Saudi-based company
involved in the event, and claimed he was told White could not take
on the role he described.
“After that video, I spoke to SELA and I said, ‘Have you seen this
video?' They said, ‘Yes, and it's completely untrue.' He cannot do
that under the contract.â€
MMA
Rampage Jackson thinks King Green may have been saved from himself in UFC 332 loss: "
Published
19 hours agoon
October 4, 2026
Zuffa LLCQuinton “Rampage†Jackson believes King Green may have been too tough for his own good this past Saturday.
Green collided with Esteban Ribovics on the UFC 332 main card in Salt Lake City. There was some bad blood going into this one after Green's team confronted Ribovics for missing weight. In the end, it was Ribovics who got the last laugh as he delivered several knockdowns to earn the first-round TKO finish.
While Green has said he wishes referee Herb Dean gave him more time to recover, Jackson told Nina Drama that the fan favorite lightweight was likely saved (h/t MMAMania).
“You put on a show before you worry about your own safety,†Jackson said. “We don't think about the wear and tear that we have on our body. That's what they be thinking about. Like, my brother, I wanted to see you win but that might have been a bad decision. What we don't think about in fighting is that s–t adds up.â€
Jackson made a rare appearance as a cornerman for Green, and he said it was difficult for him to deny the request.
“I don't really corner,†Jackson said. “Bobby asked me to corner him and all that stuff, I was like, ‘Ah, I don't wanna do all that stuff.' But, he's such a good guy, I didn't want to say no.â€
“Rampage†admitted that it was tough seeing Green suffer a TKO loss, but it comes with the territory of being a prizefighter.
“Bobby's an entertainer, he's going to bring it no matter what,†Jackson continued. “It's just, for me, he's my boy, he's like my brother. It just sucks seeing one of your boys get beat but it happens. It's part of the job.â€
Green will have to reassess what went wrong before his next outing, which likely won't be until 2027. His three-fight winning streak is over, but Green is no stranger to rebounding from defeat.
What do you think should be next for King Green? Let us know in the comments below.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
MMA
Charles Oliveira-Diego Lopes BMF title fight headlines UFC 335
Published
1 day agoon
October 4, 2026
Ultimate Fighting Championship has a stacked year-ender taking
shape in Las Vegas.
Charles Oliveira will defend his BMF title against Diego Lopes
at UFC 335 in Las Vegas
During Saturday’s UFC
332 card, the UFC announced that Charles
Oliveira will make his Octagon return against Diego Lopes
with the honorific “BMF†championship on the line in the UFC
335 headliner. Oliveira (37-11, 1 NC; 25-11, 1 NC UFC) claimed
the BMF crown at UFC 326 after upending Max
Holloway on all scorecards. Prior to that, “do Bronxs†forced
Mateusz
Gamrot to tap to a face crank in their UFC Fight Night 261
encounter in October 2025.
Lopes (28-8, 7-3 UFC) had to weather the storm against Steve
Garcia in their UFC White House encounter, but he ultimately
scored a second-round knockout victory. The Lobo Gym MMA
representative bounced back after losing a one-sided decision to
Alexander
Volkanovski in their rematch at UFC 325.
On the same card, former two-division titleholder Alex
Pereira (13-4, 10-3 UFC) will try to score his first win at
heavyweight when he faces Sergei
Pavlovich. Pereira failed to become a three-division champion
when he lost to Ciryl Gane
in the UFC White House co-main event in June. Pavlovich (21-3, 9-3
UFC) smashed Tallison
Teixeira 39 seconds into the UFC Macau co-headliner. The winner
could be close to a shot at the divisional championship.
UFC 335 will take place in Las Vegas on Dec. 12. The card will also
feature a middleweight tilt between rising contenders Joe Pyfer and
Bo
Nickal.
BMF BELT ON THE LINE 😤
Charles
Oliveira vs Diego Lopes
will headline
#UFC335 in Las Vegas![ SAT Dec 12 LIVE on
@paramountplus ] pic.twitter.com/cVRSQQv9zY— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
October 4, 2026
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