Ciryl Gane thinks reports of the heavyweight division’s demise are greatly exaggerated.
There’s no questioning that fans have been critical of the current state of the UFC heavyweight roster, especially with the title picture being muddied by the absence of Tom Aspinall. As of now, Gane is recognized as the promotion’s undisputed champion of the division, a scenario that came about after his fight with Aspinall at UFC 321 in October 2025 ended in a no-contest due to accidental eye pokes from Gane that left Aspinall unable to continue.
Gane went on to defeat Alex Pereira for an interim title at UFC White House, but with Aspinall still yet to return, Gane was promoted to undisputed status and is now set to defend his title against the surging Josh Hokit in the main event of UFC 334 next Saturday.
In an interview with UFC, Gane addressed the chaos.
“The heavyweight division looks a little bit crazy,” Gane said. “Like, with Josh Hokit, he jumped for the title shot. When you see a guy like [Alexander] Volkov, he deserves it. This is a little bit complicated for the UFC to manage this because it’s yes, it’s a championship, but it’s also promotion, so I can understand both sides.”
The undefeated Hokit earned a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2025 and is in the middle of a breakout year, scoring a knockout win over Derrick Lewis at UFC White House and putting on a Fight of the Year-candidate performance against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327. Hokit has also become notorious for his off-color and offensive comments outside of the cage, which have accelerated his rise to prominence.
Outside of the upcoming title fight, heavyweight remains a mixed bag, with several veteran contenders beginning to show their years and up-and-coming prospects like the highly touted Gable Steveson still finding their footing. Still, Gane bristles at the suggestion that the division is in a bad place and argues that it’s actually better than ever.
“But yeah, very interesting, actually the top 10 is incredible,” Gane said. “I heard a lot of people talking about the division of heavyweight [being] a little bit poor. I think the heavyweight division, actually may be the best moment of the heavyweight division’s history.”
For reference, here are the top 10 heavyweights (excluding the champion Gane) in the latest edition of the UFC’s Meta Rankings.
