Last three UFC heavyweight champions left with titles vacant

Tom Aspinall has vacated the UFC heavyweight title because ongoing eye complications prevented medical clearance, following Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones in ending their latest reigns without losing the belt in a fight.

Tom Aspinall has vacated the UFC heavyweight championship because ongoing eye complications have prevented him from receiving medical clearance to compete, ending the latest undisputed reign without a title-fight defeat.

Aspinall announced the decision on September 14, 2026. His title vacation follows an eye injury suffered during his October 25, 2025 fight with Ciryl Gane, which was officially ruled an accidental foul and a no contest, according to the BBC.

The development means the last three undisputed UFC heavyweight champions have each ceased being champion without losing the belt in a fight. UFC records identify that sequence as Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones and Aspinall.

Ngannou’s latest reign ended in January 2023 after he left the UFC and the heavyweight title became vacant. The UFC’s historical account describes the belt as vacated after the contract relationship ended, while other reporting has described Dana White as stripping Ngannou of the championship after contract negotiations collapsed.

Jones’s most recent undisputed reign ended on June 21, 2025, when UFC president Dana White announced that Jones had retired and that Aspinall had been elevated to undisputed champion. Jones had not lost the heavyweight title in competition.

Jones later said he was not retired, but the reversal did not restore the UFC heavyweight championship to him in the reported title lineage. Aspinall consequently remained the recognised undisputed champion until his announcement.

Aspinall’s decision was driven by the continuing eye problems that followed his fight with Gane rather than a loss in the cage. The UFC has yet to announce its next step for the vacant heavyweight championship.