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.

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€

Ryan Garcia knows that certain people didn't want Oscar De La Hoya at his fight, but he still would have liked him to show up.

This past weekend, Garcia squared off with Conor Benn in a highly-publicized fight, stopping Benn inside of two rounds. The fight was a co-promotion between Zuffa Boxing and De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, and given the long history of bad blood between De La Hoya and Dana White, many wondered how things would go with the two of them there together. But we never found out because De La Hoya did not attend the event.

Afterward, a report emerged claiming that De La Hoya was denied a credential, something White denied outright. But whether or not De La Hoya was allowed to attend, Garcia acknowledges that he originally intended to walk out with his promoter, before realizing that De La Hoya was not wanted, even if he was allowed in.

“In the beginning, it was Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. that was going to walk out with me, and I wanted to get, maybe Oscar right there,†Garcia told Ariel Helwani. “I think that would be iconic. Honestly, nobody wanted him there, and that's the god honest truth.â€

When asked to clarify who “nobody†was, Garcia chose not to give a direct answer, saying only, “You know who I mean,†and stating that he ultimately chose not to have De La Hoya with him because of this, but also saying he was still disappointed that his promoter did not come anyway.

“Sometimes you've got to pick your battles,†Garcia said. “That's not a battle I really wanted to pick. I'll say this though, I wish Oscar was there, I wish he would have walked out with me, and I wish he would have been ringside no matter what. That would have showed his love for me, the way I'd imagine somebody who has been with me the whole time to do.

“OK, that don't want to let you walk out, they did have a seat for you though, and you didn't take that seat. I don't respect that and that disappointed me.â€

Per boxing reporter Dan Rafael, De La Hoya did have a ticket to the event provided, but not where he was was contractually supposed to be seated and would have had to walk through the crowd to attend.

Garcia also added that he hasn't heard from De La Hoya since the event, which also bothered him.

“I don't know why he's like that,†Garcia said. “He just doesn't want to show up for the people he's supposed to love. I don't know. He's weird, bruh. He's missing a part of himself. I don't know what it is. I started my career with him, I looked up to him, and just for him to let his emotions get like that is really disappointing. Where's your maturity? Something's off. He's living in the past. It's weird.

“I didn't care for him to be a part [of fight week],†Garcia concluded. “But how special would it have been, he's not there at all and then shows up on my walkout?â€

Garcia has been signed to Golden Boy Promotions since 2016, with De La Hoya promoting him for almost the entirety of his career. However, the last few years have been strained between the two, with Garcia even making a point to mention that this was the final fight on his current contract with Golden Boy.

Ki. Scott Coker reveals new name for MMA organization, launch plans and details for Grand Prix in 2027.

Vacated. Tom Aspinall vacates UFC heavyweight title: ‘Absolute nightmare.'

Response. Josh Hokit responds to Tom Aspinall vacating UFC title: ‘I'll give Ciryl what he has coming.'

Statement. Conor Benn releases first statement since knockout loss to Ryan Garcia.

Injuries. Jean Silva reveals injuries suffered before Noche UFC win, denies slapping Jose Delgado after fight.

Out. Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega scrapped from UFC 331; Moicano gets moved to new card.

Cooking with Volk — during a weight cut!

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Not gonna lie, something like this gives me even less confidence in this project.

But like, that one on the right is a sick fight poster.

It is simply way too easy to trigger Jon Jones.

Jon Jones he also spent a portion of the night big upping some very angry comments about Tom Aspinall. But he's definitely not mad. Don't put it in the paper that he's mad.

Renato Moicano (21-7-1) vs. Tom Nolan (11-1); UFC Fight Night, Oct. 31.

I dunno man, on the one hand, technically nothing Ryan Garcia said was wrong. On the other hand, the way he said it makes me think he's not exactly speaking entirely in good faith there.

“They didn't want him there, I didn't want him part of Fight Week, and I changed my mind about him walking me out, but like, why didn't he show up?†Especially if the Rafael reporting is legit and they just got Oscar a seat in the crowd. Garcia seems almost certain to be signing with Zuffa, so you're going just to be disrespected and humiliated? I'd probably pass too.

Then again, it's Oscar. It's also entirely possible his reason for not attending is something much worse.

Not any heroes in this particular story.

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