UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane won't be promoted, even after former undisputed champion Tom Aspinall vacated his belt.
"Does it make him the undisputed champion? No," UFC CEO Dana White told Sportsnet's Diana Belbita. "He's still got to fight."
Gane captured the interim title in June by defeating Alex Pereira at the White House. He was supposed to unify the belt against Aspinall, but the English fighter had to relinquish his title due to complications from his eye injuries.
Gane is responsible for those injuries, as he poked Aspinall's eyeballs in their first fight nearly one year ago. That fight was stopped early in the second round and declared a no-contest.
White didn't reveal who's up next for Gane, but said he expects to have a fight sealed "very soon."
Gane is a two-time interim champion but has never been able to get his hands on the undisputed title. He suffered losses to Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones in his first two attempts to win undisputed gold and had the no-contest derail his third try.
Aspinall was once the interim champion as well. The UFC bumped him up to undisputed champion when Jones retired. Aspinall defended the interim championship once, but the Gane bout marked his first attempt to defend the undisputed strap.
