Gane must earn the vacant heavyweight belt

It was fight-day in Los Angeles with UFC 331 looming, but the day's hard news came from the heavyweight title picture and a wrestling mat in Miami. Dana White declared Ciryl Gane won't simply be handed the belt Tom Aspinall vacated, breaking with precedent, while Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev both rolled at RAF 13 and teased a crossover superfight.

Dana White: Gane isn't champ, must fight for vacant belt

After Tom Aspinall vacated the heavyweight title this week over lingering eye injuries, Dana White told Sportsnet that interim champion Ciryl Gane will NOT be elevated to undisputed. 'Does it make him the undisputed champion? No, he's still got to fight,' White said, adding that Gane will be booked 'soon, very soon' for the vacant belt. No opponent is named, with Alex Pereira, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich and Josh Hokit all floated.

Why it matters: This breaks the usual interim-to-undisputed elevation precedent, the same one that once made Aspinall champ after Jon Jones retired, and leaves the heavyweight division in limbo yet again.

Covington and Chimaev roll at RAF 13, superfight looms

At RAF 13 in Miami, Colby Covington shut out Belal Muhammad 10-0 by technical fall to retain the RAF cruiserweight crossover title, opening with an early eye poke before overwhelming his old rival on the mat. In the co-main, Khamzat Chimaev beat Gilbert Burns 15-4 by tech fall to move to 3-0 in RAF, though Burns became the first man to push him to a second period. Both men called for a Covington-Chimaev clash next. Joe Pyfer also tech-falled Luke Rockhold on the undercard.

Why it matters: RAF keeps pulling recognizable UFC names onto the wrestling mat, and a Covington-Chimaev match would be the promotion's biggest draw yet.

Tsarukyan nearly scraps with Ruffy as UFC 331 makes weight

All 24 fighters hit their marks for UFC 331 in Los Angeles, headlined by Joshua Van's flyweight title defense against Alexandre Pantoja in their rematch. At Friday's ceremonial weigh-ins, Arman Tsarukyan again created a faceoff incident, walking into Mauricio Ruffy's outstretched fist and nearly triggering a scuffle before Dana White stepped in. The five-round co-main is billed as a lightweight title eliminator, with the winner in line for Justin Gaethje. Herb Dean drew the main-event refereeing assignment.

Why it matters: The Tsarukyan-Ruffy winner is positioned for a 2027 shot at Gaethje, but Tsarukyan's repeated faceoff antics keep testing the UFC's patience just as he angles back toward a title.

Kayla Harrison targets UFC 334 return against Nunes

Women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison is back in full training and targeting a Nov. 14 return at UFC 334 in New York, per American Top Team coach Anderson Franca. Harrison, 19-1, hasn't fought since beating Julianna Pena at UFC 316 in July 2025 and underwent emergency cervical spine surgery that forced her out of a UFC 324 bout with Amanda Nunes. The long-awaited Nunes superfight is expected to be rebooked as her first defense.

Why it matters: It restores one of the biggest women's fights in the sport and hands UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden a headliner after Aspinall's withdrawal gutted the card.

Volkanovski, Evloev square off as UFC 333 build opens

UFC 333 (Oct. 24, Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi) held its first press conference in Los Angeles. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and undefeated challenger Movsar Evloev, who trained together years ago, were respectful and shook hands at their first faceoff. The co-main bantamweight title trilogy between champion Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili carried more edge, with each man holding a prior win over the other.

Why it matters: Two title fights anchor the UFC's Abu Dhabi return, and the unbeaten Evloev finally gets the featherweight shot he has waited years for.

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