The heavyweight division will have to move on without Tom Aspinall for now. The Englishman recently announced that he is vacating the 265lbs **** le after another incident caused further damage to his right eye. Aspinall has been sidelined for nearly a year after suffering a double eye poke at the hands of Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
He was diagnosed with the rare bilateral traumatic Brown's syndrome and has since undergone triple eye surgery. Eddie Hearn recently revealed that Aspinall needed more time for additional tests before he could be considered 100% healthy. However, the prolonged recovery timeline became increasingly frustrating.
The former champion took to Instagram and penned a lengthy post explaining the circumstances behind his decision. Shortly after, Josh Hokit seized the opportunity to stake his claim to the now-vacant **** le.
The 10-0 heavyweight had recently rejected Alex Pereira's call for a rematch with Gane, who currently holds the interim **** le. Instead, Hokit pitched two blockbuster headliners for UFC 334 later this year, with himself facing Gane for the heavyweight gold and Pereira taking on Sergei Pavlovich.
Now that Aspinall has vacated the belt, Gane is seemingly expected to be upgraded to undisputed champion. However, staying true to his original plan, Hokit has doubled down on facing the Frenchman for the championship next.

#aspinall #heavyweight #year

Josh Hokit wasted no time making his case for UFC gold after Tom Aspinall vacated the heavyweight ******* le Monday.
Aspinall relinquished his championship after suffering yet another setback in his ongoing recovery from the eye injuries he sustained against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 last October. The move clears the way for the UFC heavyweight division to resume it's usual activity; Gane defeated Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 in June to claim an interim ******* le, and will likely be formally upgraded to undisputed heavyweight champion in short order.
And Hokit wants the first crack.
"The fans deserve Me vs Gane. I'll give Ciryl what he has coming. If Alex can win 1 fight in my weight class, I'll give it to him too, early '27. I'll be the most active champ in the company."
Pereira has continued to campaign for an immediate rematch with Gane in the months since UFC Freedom 250, accusing the Frenchmen of using illegal strikes to the back of the head to defeat him in their battle on the White House's South Lawn. Hokit, though, has repeatedly dismissed the former two-division UFC champion, arguing that Pereira should have to earn his way back after being stopped by Gane in less than two rounds.

#pereira #title

Hola amigos!
Welcome to the Monday mailbag post. This is where you can submit your questions to us, the humble staff at MMA Mania. If you have something you want to ask, pop it in the comment section below.
We'll answer everything and anything (so long as you're not trying to get us in trouble). But priority goes to time sensitive questions. For this week, that means stuff related to Noche UFC 4 or the upcoming UFC 331. You might also want to ask about Tom Aspinall vacating the Heavyweight ****** le.
You don't have to ask UFC or MMA questions, though. I welcome off-topic and also very silly questions. If we don't get to your question this week, don't worry. They all get logged on a big sheet so they don't get forgotten and can be answered another week.
Ok, shoot! Whatya got?

#want #hola #mania

Eddie Hearn's roster of UFC fighters appears to have a new addition in the form of Paulo Costa. The former middleweight ***** le challenger is set to join Matchroom Talent Agency alongside reigning heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and Ian Machado Garry.
The Brazilian recently revealed that he has parted ways with longtime manager Tiki Ghosn and is now ready to start a new chapter. During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Costa revealed that he is set to begin a new managerial partnership with Hearn.
Costa revealed that Hearn sent him the contract a few days before his UFC 332 controversy erupted. He also confirmed that Hearn will handle both his sponsorships and managerial duties moving forward.
He said, "Yes, both! The whole thing. I have too much respect for what he's doing. He's a great guy, a great professional. I think we're going to do great things together."
Costa added, "He's a super important person in the fight business. Not only in MMA, but not only in boxing, but he's coming to MMA right now. I think this is a great acquisition for the MMA community."

#revealed #think #matchroom

Surging heavyweight Josh Hokit went on tirade on social media after former two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira posted a video campaigning for a rematch with Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight belt.
In a series of X posts targeting Pereira and making his case for the next shot at Gane, Hokit criticized the idea that Pereira and Ilia Topuria could challenge for belts next after both got finished by Gane and Justin Gaethje this past June at UFC White House, respectively.
"As a fan, that fight makes no ***** sense," wrote Hokit, who finished Derrick Lewis on that same card. "I watched you get demolished. How about a more favorable match up like Sergei [Pavlovitch] who is basically a striker & way less athletic than Ciryl. How about you get one ***** win in this weight class before you are gifted another ***** le shot."
"Growing up, I loved the UFC & all of its fighters," he continued on a separate post. "So it gives me great pleasure to use my platform today to speak the truth: neither Ilia Topuria nor Alex Pereira deserve a ***** ***** le shot in their next fight. They both got handily destroyed. Make them earn it and fight their way back like everyone else."
Hokit argued that Tom Aspinall's manager Eddie Hearn is "obviously" stalling to "buy time in contract negotiations" instead of working on a deal for a ***** le unification bout with Gane. Hokit suggests, then, booking him versus Gane on the upcoming Madison Square Garden show November in New York, while Pereira battles Pavlovich on the same card.

#fucking #ciryl

Hello everyone, and welcome back for another week of rankings in the UFC. This weekend was another great card for the UFC, in which we saw Salahdine Parnasse knock out Dan Hooker in under three minutes in the first round.
The next event for the UFC is UFC Fight Night 288 in Glendale, AZ, which features Jean Silva versus Jose Delgado as the main event for NOCHE. This match shouldn't last long, and that sucks for anyone who loves watching both of these fighters.
That being said, let's get to this week's rankings and see who made it. Have a great day, everyone, and may the fights be with you.
MORE: Eddie Hearn drops major update on Tom Aspinall's return status
May 9, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, UNITED STATES; Joshua Van (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Tatsuro Taira (blue gloves) during UFC 328 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

#gloves

It has been nearly three months since Alex Pereira's bid to become a UFC champion in a third weight class came to a brutal halt at UFC Freedom 250. Ciryl Gane delivered a statement-making performance to score a second-round knockout in the historic White House co-main event.
The win was a huge moment for Gane, who became just the second fighter in UFC history to win two interim ***** les in the same division. More importantly, it put the French heavyweight in line for a highly anticipated rematch with undisputed champion Tom Aspinall.
However, much of the post-fight discussion wasn't about Gane's performance. Instead, the spotlight quickly turned to the 11 finishing shots he landed on Pereira, with seven appearing to connect to the back of the head and being deemed illegal.
ALSO READ: Ilia Topuria Breaks Down First Career Loss to Justin Gaethje in Deeply Personal 9-Part Essay
Pereira has since repeatedly called out referee Herb Dean and even demanded that he be removed from officiating his future fights. So far, though, nothing has changed on that front, and it appears Pereira is ready to put the controversy behind him and focus on what comes next.

#since #champion #performance #freedom

Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let's start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026.
Bella Mir's boozy mom quits social media, blames toxic UFC fans for 'out-of-line' rant against Alex Apodaca: This is a great reminder that parents of athletes should never be the headline.
Tom Aspinall refutes rumors, promises comeback: 'I'm not leaving the UFC': The clock is ticking for Tom Aspinall to make his return in 2026. Think it happens?
UFC Alcatraz? Location odds drop for Dana White's secret 2027 mega-event: Of all the options presented, Mount Rushmore seems most likely.

#bella

Brighton face Norwegian side Tromso in the second leg of their Conference League play-off tie on Thursday following a goalless draw 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle last week.
Seagull boss Fabian Hurzeler has a big decision to make on whether he should start a strong team just three days before his side play away at Chelsea. His side are huge favourites to make it through to the League Phase of the competition but won't want to be on the end of an embarrassing upset in their search for a first major trophy in the club's history.
Both former Seagulls players Warren Aspinall and Guy **** ers believe Hurzeler should go strong against their Norwegian counterparts.
Speaking on the Albion Unlimited podcast, Aspinall said: "Get the job done and put the strongest side out. See if we can get a few goals in the first half then take players off. Man for man we're better than them. As a team, we're better than them but never underestimate them because they should've won that game at home.
"It'll be completely different at the Amex with our crowd. I **** ume they will bring a good following but we should be beating Tromso. It's a massive game for the football club. Six extra games in Europe, financially as well, so I think he has to go very strong."

#norwegian

UFC 333's headlining fights are set with a long-awaited matchup between Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev, and Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili settling the score in a trilogy bout.
The UFC officially announced the fights during Saturday's UFC 330 broadcast, with Volkanovski's featherweight ***** le defense against Evloev being marked as the main event for the Oct. 24 event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Volkanovski (28-4) seeks the second successful defense of his second reign, while Evloev finally gets his championship opportunity after going 20-0 in his pro career.
Yan (20-5) delivered arguably the best performance of 2025 when he defeated Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323 to reclaim the bantamweight ***** le, snap Dvalishvili's 14-fight win streak, and avenge a loss from their first meeting in 2023. "No Mercy" has now won four straight fights following a career-worst three-fight skid and looks to put the stamp on his rivalry with Dvalishvili.
For Dvalishvili (21-5), he is coming off of a well-deserved layoff after successfully defending his belt three times in 2025 before Yan foiled his attempt to become the first UFC fighter to record four successful defenses in a calendar year. Prior to that loss, Dvalishvili's seven-year unbeaten streak included victories over Yan, Jose Aldo, Sean O'Malley, Henry Cejudo, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Cory Sandhagen, among others.
All four headlining fighters hold spots in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings, with Yan at 3, Volkanovski at 5 (tied with Tom Aspinall and Ilia Topuria), Dvalishvili at 8 (tied with Sean Strickland) and Evloev at 19.

#dvalishvili

The top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, puts his **** le on the line in the UFC 330 main event against No. 2 ranked contender Ian Machado Garry.
It will be Makhachev's first **** le defense and heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall believes it will be one of his toughest tests to date.
"I think this is going to be Islam' toughest fight that we've seen recently," Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. "I think stylistically, Ian Garry is a pretty bad matchup for him to be honest.
"He's long, rangy, moves really well. You don't often see him getting taken down and held there. Super tall, super like elusive, elite striking, judges the distance really well. He's young, he's fresh, he's not had, you know, loads of damage or anything like that. He's not got a lot of miles on the clock."
While Garry may present unique challenges to the champion, Aspinall still predicted that Makhachev will retain his **** le at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

#champion

Joe Rogan believes RicoVerhoeven will financially benefit more from boxing than fromjoining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Verhoeven recently asked for Rogan's suggestion about competinginside the Octagon during an appearance on the UFC commentator'spodcast.
The former Glory Kickboxing champion noted that ConorMcGregor had reportedly earned a massive payday for his returnfight last month, which lasted 69 seconds. However, Rogan advisedthe 37-year-old against signing with the UFC at this point in hiscareer.

Rogan believes Verhoeven can earn more money in boxing. He alsoclaimed that Verhoeven's friend and training partner TomAspinall could have a career in boxing in the future and thatthe Brit will benefit from working with Eddie Hearn.

"For you, boxing makes the most sense, especially at this point inyour life, financially," Rogan told Verhoeven. "For Tom, he has apotential career in boxing as well. And now that Eddie Hearn ismanaging him, which is very exciting because Matchroom being behindhim is gonna have a gigantic hype machine, gigantic promotion. Theyare at odds with the UFC. For me, I care about the fighters makingthe most money possible, and that's how [Tom] is gonna make themost money possible."

Verhoeven vacated his Glory heavyweight **** le last year afterdefending it against ArtemVakhitov, the last man to beat AlexPereira in kickboxing. The Dutchman then challenged formerchamp Oleksandr Usyk this past May. While Verhoeven was a massiveunderdog, he led the dance for the most part before slowing down inthe later rounds.

Seemingly en route to a potentially monumental upset win, he wasknocked down late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned tohis feet, Usyk followed up and the referee bizarrely stopped thefight with a second left in the stanza.

#boxing #last #glory #kickboxing

You’re right Connie, karma is a mirror.
Former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who also held gold at 145 pounds, returned to the Octagon after a five-year absence atop the UFC 329 fight card last Sat. night (July 11, 2026) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, his first MMA fight since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 back in summer 2021.
Max Holloway won the fight, but McGregor is the one who did most of the damage.
Their welterweight main event was over in just 69 seconds, thanks to a self-inflicted knee injury suffered by McGregor. Unfortunately, it happens at this level of competition. Tom Aspinall suffered a similar injury against Curtis Blaydes at UFC London and Patrick Cote blew out his knee against Anderson Silva at UFC 90.
That said, McGregor is held to a different standard.

TomAspinall has made a bold prediction for ConorMcGregor's return to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Ahead of McGregor's highly anticipated rematch against MaxHolloway at UFC 329, set for July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, theUFC heavyweight king has shared his take on the matchup. Aspinallis siding with the Irish icon, predicting a quick finish.
Aspinall talked about the upcoming fight between Holloway andMcGregor on his YouTube channel. The Brit is encouraged by thelatter's recent interviews, wherein he appears to be in the rightmindset.

"I watched a couple of his interviews recently. He seems in areally good place," Aspinall said. "I know it's only an interview,but he does seem in a good place. When McGregor's on form, he'sabsolutely unreal. Absolutely unreal."

Further breaking down the rematch, Aspinall claimed that neitherfighter is at their best, with McGregor coming off a lengthyabsence from the Octagon and Holloway suffering a dominant defeatin his last outing against CharlesOliveira. "He's beat Max Holloway before. Max Holloway, in myopinion, really, really good fighter," he added. "Neither of themare the same fighter that they were like 10 years ago."

Emphasizing the power difference between the two, Aspinall says onewell-timed shot from McGregor could be enough to secure thevictory, which is why he favors the Irishman to beat Holloway.

"I heard a couple of McGregor interviews. I was very impressed withwhat he was talking about and how calm he seemed and how focused heseemed. But the thing is that power doesn't leave. Like, he justneeds one shot and it can be over. So, I'm more favoring towards aMcGregor win. I think Conor McGregor Round one knockout. I thinkhe's going to land the big left bomber on him," Aspinallconcluded.

Josh Hokit has a plan to make Heavyweight great again.
“The Incredible Hok” may be a controversial figure, but it’s hard to argue that he’s a welcome presence in the division’s largely stagnate **** le mix. In less than a year on the UFC roster, Hokit has built up a 4-0 record in the promotion, beating a pair of Top 10 opponents in the last three months alone. By smashing going to war with Curtis Blaydes and smacking down Derrick Lewis, Hokit has established himself as a serious **** le threat.
Unfortunately, the **** le remains at a standstill. Champion Tom Aspinall has been sidelined for about nine months since his eye poke “No Contest” versus Ciryl Gane, and the timeline on his return remains uncertain (though hopefully moving in the right direction). Gane, meanwhile, just smoked Alex Pereira at the UFC White House (watch here)
Hokit has a bold idea to get the Heavyweight wheel spinning: cut the current champion!
“This crybaby has lost all of his aura,” Hokit wrote on X about Alex Pereira. “Here’s an idea UFC. Cut Tom [Aspinall]. Ciryl is the undisputed champ anyways IMO. He made Tom quit. Tom’s manager is trying to play games. Give me Ciryl in September and when I win I will give [Alex Pereira] a chance to get his self esteem back in Nov/Dec. At least then we will have a champ that is down to fight all of the time.”

Heavyweight contender Josh Hokit took aim at champion Tom Aspinall over inactivity and wants the UFC to strip Aspinall of the heavyweight ****** le and release him from the organization. He also continued to take shots at former two-division ****** leholder Alex Pereira.
"This crybaby has lost all of his aura," Hokit said about Pereira on X. "Here's an idea ufc . Cut Tom. Ciryl is the undisputed champ anyways IMO. He made Tom quit. Tom's manager is trying to play games.
"Give me Ciryl in September and when I win I will give AlexPereiraUFC a chance to get his self esteem back in Nov/Dec. At least then we will have a champ that is down to fight all of the time."
Earlier in the week, "The Incredible Hok" called Pereira "a broken man" and took at shot at the Brazilian's past alcohol use.
"Alex Periera is a broken man… imagine how much more broken he’ll be after I beat him… he started as an alcoholic and he will end as an alcoholic…," Hokit wrote.

Eddie Hearn has signed Ian Machado Garry to the Matchroom Talent Agency, as a second UFC fighter joins the boxing promoter’s new venture.
Earlier this year, the mixed-martial-arts world was gripped by news that Hearn had signed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, and in Machado Garry, Matchroom has acquired the UFC’s No 1 welterweight contender.
Machado Garry, 28, also joins England rugby-union player Henry Pollock in signing with Hearn, who is not signing these athletes to the Matchroom boxing promotion, of course, but rather a new talent agency.
Still, Aspinall’s signing proved controversial given Hearn’s bitter feud with UFC president and CEO Dana White, who kickstarted Zuffa Boxing earlier this year and even acquired Conor Benn, whom Hearn had supported through his entire boxing career – including a two-year saga in which the British fighter failed two drug tests.
Aspinall has had his own frustrations with the UFC in recent months, too, taking exception to comments made by White after Aspinall fought Ciryl Gane to a no-contest in October; the Manchester heavyweight could not continue after suffering several eye pokes, and White suggested that Aspinall had opted not to keep fighting, although the injuries eventually led to double eye surgery.

After months and months of slow recovery news and drama, Tom Aspinall is ready to return to the octagon.
The undisputed UFC heavyweight champion hasn’t fought since October 2025 when he was badly poked in both eyes by opponent Ciryl Gane. Thus began a lengthy saga that saw Aspinall undergo multiple surgeries to correct issues with his sight. Back in February it was revealed that his depth perception was so bad he couldn’t drive and missed peoples’ hands when trying to shake them. Things looked bad.
Now, things are starting to move in the right direction again, health-wise at least. On the business side, there may be a new stumbling block: Aspinall’s new manager Eddie Hearn, who also happens to be UFC CEO Dana White’s biggest rival in boxing. Since taking Aspinall on as a client, Hearn has questioned the amount of money the UFC paid Aspinall and vowed to get his client what he deserves.
The UFC is more of a ‘Take it or leave it’ kind of org when it comes to accepting the pay you signed a contract for, especially if you come at them wrong about it. So the good news is that Tom Aspinall is ready to sign his next fight. The bad news is there may be rocky negotiations ahead that could kill things just as surely as those eye injuries did.
“Honestly, this is a dangerous fight,” Hearn told Ariel Helwani of the Ciryl Gane rematch. “And some people still refuse to acknowledge that [Tom] had four eye operations and was told quite clearly he could have lost his vision. You’ve got to go back in there, do the same kind of thing, could happen again. This time it could be worse, or it could be a back of the head blow. All these other fouls that you see, it’s going to be that kind of fight. It’s not going to be easy.”

Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Talent Agency have added Ian Machado Garry to their roster. The next UFC welterweight **** le challenger joins heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall as only the second UFC fighter to work with the agency.
After signing Aspinall in March, Matchroom’s Hearn knew it was a matter of time before more UFC stars came knocking at his door. However, with Garry, Hearn was the one to pursue Ireland's latest superstar contender, he said. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that they put pen to paper, preceding Wednesday’s official announcement. Speaking in-studio on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Hearn explained how the deal came to be.
"We've taken our time, to be honest with you," Hearn told Uncrowned. "Because what we've done with Tom has been quite incredible, and we'll come back to that. Through that signing, we had over a dozen UFC or MMA guys come to us and say, 'How do we be a part of this? Can we get representation with you guys?'
"We're a sports agency. We're looking to represent high-profile global stars across sport and entertainment, not MMA. But of all the approaches we had, I don't even think Ian was an approach. I think I actually reached out to him because I know his team and everybody around him.
"I looked at this guy for a long time, and I love his spirit. I love his personality. He's a good, tall, good-looking guy who speaks incredibly well. I've long felt this is a guy I actually think has the attributes to be a superstar. As I learn more about the sport, how good he is, we met, we had a lot of deep conversations, talked a lot of strategy. Then of course, he finally secured the big fight, and particularly with our work in Ireland and understanding the country, the audience, how passionate they are for their own, I just felt like this was the guy we wanted to bring to the team, and I couldn't be happier."

JoshHokit wants Herb Dean asthe referee if he fights Ciryl Ganein the future.

Dean has recently faced backlash for his officiating in AlexPereira's loss against Gane at UFC White House. Gane finished Pereira in the second round towin the interim heavyweight ****** le earlier this month. However, Ganeapparently used multiple shots to the back of Pereira's head,without Dean issuing any warning. Gane has previously been accusedof using illegal shots when his ****** le challenge against TomAspinall ended in a no-contest due to a double eye poke by theFrenchman.

However, surging heavyweight contender Hokit (10-0) is unbotheredabout illegal shots from Gane (14-2) if they fight. "The IncredibleHok" specifically wants Dean as the third man in the Octagon if hefights Gane.

"The Incredible Hok's eyes would break Ciryl Gane'sfingers and the back of my head would shatter his elbow. I insistthat Herb ref our fight," Hokit wrote on X.
Gane has now earned a reputation for using illegal shots. Pereiraclaims to have even reminded Dean about back-of-the-head shots fromGane during the rules meeting ahead of their fight.
Meanwhile, Hokit also mocked Pereira and Aspinall in his recentspree on social media.

TomAspinall is preparing for a rematch against CirylGane.

Aspinall (15-3) recently posted a video mocking Gane (14-2)over his reputation for using illegal shots. Aspinall posted a clipshowing Gane hitting opponents with low blows, eye pokes andback-of-the-head shots. Aspinall then shows himself wearing ametallic groin guard and a motorcycle helmet to shield himselfagainst Gane.

"Training for the rematch has begun," Aspinall wrote in the captionof an Instagram post.

Gane has been accused of throwing illegal blows on multipleoccasions. Gane challenged Pereira for the heavyweight ***** le atUFC320 this past October. The fight ended in an unfortunate nocontest after a double eye poke from Gane in the first roundrendered Aspinall unable to continue. With Aspinall sidelined dueto his eye injury, Gane fought AlexPereira for the interim heavyweight ***** le earlier this month.While Gane finished "Poatan" in the second round, the Frenchman hasbeen accused of throwing several back-of-the-head shots in thefinishing sequence. Gane is now expected to challenge Aspinall in atitle unifier when the Englishman returns to action.

In recent weeks, we asked you which Brighton players you would choose to keep, loan and sell this summer transfer window and now BBC Radio Sussex have had their say.
Host of the Albion Unlimited podcast Johnny Cantor, floated numerous names for each category alongside former Brighton striker Warren Aspinall, but has ultimately settled on these three players.
"I am going to keep Olivier Boscagli," Cantor said. "I think he could be a really good player. I know he's spoken to me quite a few times about how frustrated he is about not playing regularly; he's played in the Champions League, been at a big club and come to Albion and he's not playing as much as he wants.
"So he may be thinking, and I'm not saying he is, that he's in the prime of his career at 28-years-old and thinking 'right I need to get out whether on loan or somewhere else' but I would keep him because I think he's going to be vital – particularly in Europe.
"In terms of loan, I'm going to go for Tommy Watson. We need to find a club where he's going to play regularly. I don't know where that is, it wasn't at Millwall, and I really feel like he needs to find somewhere where he's happy."

UFC Freedom 250 went down in the history books last night (Sat., June 14, 2026) in what was truly one-of-a kind event that saw all seven fights end via knockout. In the main event of the evening, Justin Gaethje became the undisputed Lightweight champion of the world after he absolutely brutalized Ilia Topuria to the point to where “El Matador” could not answer the call to come out for the fifth and final round (highlights). In the co-headlining act, Ciryl Gane once again captured UFC gold by knocking out Alex Pereira (video), while Sean O’Malley stopped Aiemann Zahabi in round two (see it here).
It’s about time UFC stops playing with Tsarukyan and give him his long over due shot at the **** le. He is currently ranked No. 2 and while he has been meaty taking on side quests in RAF, he should be ready to get back to his true calling inside the Octagon. This is another fight that has fireworks written all over it. Tsarukyan is on a five-fight win streak and was last seen submitting Dan Hooker in Nov. 2025.
After Gane stunned Pereira in round two with his heavy bombs, the hulking Frenchman can now look ahead to trying to settle some unfinished business with the current champion, Aspinall, in a rematch. The two men initially threw down at UFC 321 in Oct. 2025, which saw the fight end in anti-climactic fashion in the very first round after Aspinall was on the wrong end of an inadvertent eye poke, resulting in a no contest (NC). Since then, however, all we have been seeing is how slow the champ’s recovery has been, so there is no telling when that fight will happen…if ever.
After O’Malley took care of Zahabi last night, he called for a **** le fight against current Houston champion, Petr Yan. The two men initially fought way back at UFC 280, which saw “Suga” walk away with a split-decision win. Since then, however, Yan has become champion once again, winning the undisputed **** le more recently at UFC 323 by defeating Merab Dvalishvili. There have been talks about a potential rematch between the two, but nothing has yet become official. If and when it does, then I can see O’Malley waiting to face the winner, as he should.
Hokit secured his fourth straight win inside the Octagon in just seven months by stopping Derrick Lewis in round number two (see it here). Currently ranked No. 5, he could be moving up a spot or two following his latest win. Up next, a fight against Pavlovich could be in order, which would undoubtedly be his biggest test so far inside the Octagon. Pavlovich is currently ranked No. 3 in the division and is coming off an easy night of work, disposing of Tallison Teixeira in 39 seconds just last month (see it here). The winner of this fight could put himself in great position for a **** le eliminator fight, possibly against Alexander Volkov.

Ciryl Gane spoiled Alex Pereira's bid at history Sunday when he claimed the interim heavyweight ***** le in the UFC Freedom 250 co-main event.
Gane (14-2 MMA, 10-3 UFC) did not allow Pereira (13-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) to become a three-division champion and set up a ***** le unification rematch with Tom Aspinall courtesy of a second-round TKO triumph at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Gane beating Pereira at UFC Freedom 250.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC White House: Fighters react to Alex Pereira's loss to Ciryl Gane

For the second time of his career, Ciryl Gane is the UFC interim heavyweight champion. He did it by taking out one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts.
In the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250, the Frenchman rode an avalanche of violence to defeat former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in the second round. The win gives him another shot at heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, who escaped their last meeting via infamous eye poke.
The result also prevents Pereira from becoming the UFC’s first three-division ******* le-holder.
Pereira had the star power going into the White House card, his heavyweight debut, but the odds were relatively even between the pair. Gane seemed to have the speed advantage, though it was a small edge in the face of Pereira’s power.
The second half was similarly balanced, then turned quickly. Gane sent Pereira reeling with a quick right, then refused to stop hitting the Brazilian until referee Herb Dean stepped in.

The heavyweight division appeared set to enter a new era following the retirement of Jon Jones and the promotion of Tom Aspinall to undisputed champion. But what was meant to be Aspinall’s triumphant return after a 14-month layoff instead ended in controversy at UFC 321. Headlining the card in Abu Dhabi, Aspinall was scheduled to defend his heavyweight ***** le against Ciryl Gane. However, the bout came to a sudden and shocking halt late in the opening round.
At the 4:35 mark of Round 1, an accidental double eye poke from Gane left the champion unable to see, forcing referee Jason Herzog to step in and wave off the fight as a no-contest. Despite being given nearly four minutes to recover and undergoing examinations from two cageside doctors, Aspinall made it clear that his vision was compromised and he could not continue. As a result, the fight was officially ruled a no-contest, with the Englishman retaining his ***** le in unfortunate fashion.
ALSO READ: Dana White Says Alex Pereira Could Overtake Jon Jones in UFC GOAT Race at Freedom 250
The aftermath raised further concern as Aspinall was later diagnosed with bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome and has since undergone double eye surgery, leaving the timeline for his return uncertain. Aspinall has returned to light training and sparring while also securing a new management deal with Eddie Hearn, but there remains no clear timeline for his return to the Octagon.

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