Dana White has made it clear that Ciryl Gane will not be promoted from interim champion to the undisputed heavyweight champion of the UFC. This announcement comes after Tom Aspinall vacated the undisputed title due to complications from a severe eye injury sustained during his fight against Gane last October.

In that fight, Aspinall suffered multiple eye pokes from Gane, leading to a no-contest in his title defense. While Gane secured the interim title by defeating Alex Pereira at the White House in June, many in the mixed martial arts community expected him to be automatically elevated to undisputed champion, similar to Aspinall's promotion after Jon Jones retired last summer.

However, White stated to Sportsnet, "Does it make him the undisputed champion? No, he’s still got to fight." He confirmed that Gane's next fight will be announced "very soon," emphasizing that the situation is not unique, referencing the recent title vacated by Valentina Shevchenko.

When asked about Aspinall's return, White mentioned, "I don’t [know]. Obviously, whenever he feels healthy again, whenever his eyes are healed, then we’re ready for him."

Alex Pereira has also called for a rematch with Gane, alleging that Gane landed illegal blows during their bout. Other potential contenders for Gane's title fight include veteran Alexander Volkov and rising star Josh Hokit, with Volkov having faced Gane previously in controversial matchups.