Dana White said Gane wouldn't be undisputed champion — the UFC then made him one

Ciryl Gane is the UFC’s undisputed heavyweight champion, despite Dana White telling an interviewer just days earlier that the Frenchman would not receive that status following Tom Aspinall’s title vacancy.

Aspinall (15-3) relinquished the heavyweight belt due to lingering eye injuries. Under standard UFC practice, an interim champion is elevated to undisputed status when the full champion vacates — a process that would ordinarily benefit Gane (14-2), who claimed the interim title at UFC Freedom 250.

However, prior to UFC 331, White sat down with former UFC fighter Diana Belbita and was unambiguous on the matter. “Does it make [Gane] the undisputed champion? No,” White said. “He still got to fight.”

The UFC 331 broadcast told a different story. Commentators Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan confirmed that Gane had in fact been elevated to undisputed champion, and that he would defend the belt at UFC 334 in New York City against Josh Hokit on November 14. Cormier and Rogan joked on air that a misunderstanding may have arisen during White’s interview owing to the president’s well-documented hearing difficulties.

Gane’s first undisputed title defence against Hokit (10-0) headlines a stacked card at Madison Square Garden. The co-main event pits bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison against Amanda Nunes, while rising flyweight Bilal Hasan makes his second UFC appearance against Luis Gurule. The main card is rounded out by Caio Borralho vs. Yousri Belgaroui and Uros Medic vs. Kevin Holland.