Kayla Harrison , Tom Aspinall , and Valentina Shevchenko are standouts in the UFC. Photo: SUPER LUTAS montage
A new controversy involving the UFC draws attention to how the organization has been dealing with champions who are sidelined for extended periods. In recent months, Kayla Harrison and Tom Aspinall retained their belts even without a defined return date, while Valentina Shevchenko relinquished her title after an injury, and Carlos Ulberg had an interim belt authorized by Dana White in his division.
The contrast between the cases raises questions about what criteria the UFC uses to decide when a champion should retain the belt and when the organization should create an interim title fight or put the title on the line again.
Kayla Harrison has gone 457 days without defending her title.
Kayla Harrison won the UFC bantamweight title (up to 61,2 kg) by submitting Julianna Peña at UFC 316 on June 7, 2025. Since then, the American has not competed again and has been away from the octagon for 457 days.
The champion was scheduled to fight Amanda Nunes at UFC 324 in January 2026, but had to withdraw to undergo throat surgery. As of now, there is no official date set for her return.
Despite the long period of inactivity, the UFC did not strip Harrison of his title, nor did it announce the creation of an interim title for the division.
Valentina Shevchenko relinquished her title after an injury.
Valentina Shevchenko 's case presents a different scenario. The Kyrgyz fighter defended her flyweight title (up to 56,7 kg) at UFC 322, held on November 15, 2025. Since then, it has been 296 days since she last stepped into the octagon.
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Shevchenko was scheduled to fight Natalia Silva for the title, but an injury forced the champion to withdraw from the bout. Wang Cong was subsequently chosen to replace her.
The difference is that, in this case, Shevchenko chose to relinquish the belt. As a result, Natalia Silva and Wang Cong began competing for the UFC flyweight title, preventing the division from remaining without a champion while the former holder recovered.
Tom Aspinall has been out of competition for 317 days.
Another case that draws attention is that of Tom aspinallThe Briton was the interim heavyweight champion (up to 120,2 kg) and was promoted to the undisputed champion after the announcement of his retirement. Jon Jones.
Aspinall didn't even need to fight again to receive the belt. However, in his first defense as the undisputed champion, at UFC 321, held on October 25, 2025, the Briton suffered an eye poke inflicted by... Cyryl Gane.
The fight ended in a no contest, and since then, Aspinall has not competed again. As of Monday, September 7, 2026, the champion has been out of the octagon for 317 days, and there is still no definite date set for his return.
Due to the British fighter's absence, the UFC decided to create an interim belt for the category. The fight took place at UFC White House on June 14, 2026, when Ciryl Gane defeated Alex Poatan and won the interim title.
Carlos Ulberg will have a long recovery.
Carlos Ulberg 's situation also resulted in a different decision from the UFC. The New Zealander won the light heavyweight title (up to 93 kg) by defeating Jiri Prochazka at UFC 327, held on April 11, 2026.
At the time, Ulberg suffered a knee injury during the victory. Currently, the fighter has been out of competition for 149 days, but the period of absence is expected to be much longer: his return is only projected for the second half of 2027.
Given the prospect of such a prolonged absence, Dana White gave the green light for the creation of an interim belt in the light heavyweight division.
Fans and fighters criticize UFC's stance.
"I'm telling you that Aspinall isn't going to fight this year. They're going to do the rematch between Gane and Pereira again for the interim belt, just like they did with Aspinall defending the interim belt. Hokit is going to face Volkov or something like that. Kayla isn't going to fight this year either. The UFC is a joke," wrote a fan.
“Kayla’s last fight was in June 2025. Valentina’s last fight was on November 15, 2025. If they’re going to force Valentina to relinquish the belt, then both of them should also lose their titles,” Cris Cyborg pointed out.
“YES, IT’S REALLY INCONVENIENT; the UFC doesn’t have a consistent standard of behavior or a set of rules. They use double standards all the time. Another thing: why the hell is Alex still ranked in the light heavyweight division after fighting and losing in the heavyweight division? And why is he ranked 4th in the heavyweight division without a single win in the category, ahead of Josh Hokit ?”, concluded Paulo Borrachinha.
YEAH IT'S REALLY inconvenient; the UFC doesn't have a consistent standard of behavior or set of rules—they use double standards all the time. Another thing is, why on earth is Alex still ranked at Light Heavyweight after fighting and losing at Heavyweight? And why is he ranked… https://t.co/zem9CjD6DY
— Paulo Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA) September 6, 2026
"If the UFC could do Valentina Shevchenko If they're going to give up on the Championship, then why not do the same with... Kayla harrison Why are Tom Aspinall holding the divisions? Why didn't the UFC strip him of his title? Jon Jones "When did he hold the split? Doing this to Valentina is stupid and unfair," said one fan.
Double standards. 😠
If UFC could make Valentina Shevchenko vacate Championship, then why not do the same with Kayla harrison & Tom Aspinal for holding up divisions? Why didn't UFC strip Jon Jones of Title when he held up division? Doing this to Valentina is stupid & unfair. 👎 https://t.co/3d2iIiiplr— Tanay (@tanaymishra007) September 6, 2026
"Valentina Shevchenko She is subjected to a completely different standard than any other champion. Kayla harrison She's been away for almost a year and a half and still doesn't have a fight scheduled, but nobody is talking about taking away her belt or forcing her to relinquish the title. The same thing is happening with Aspinall.”
Valentina Shevchenko is held to a completely different standard than any champion.
Kayla harrison has been out nearly a year and a half and isn't booked yet and yet no talks of stripping or making her vacate. Similar to Aspinall.— Normand Pierce 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 (@Kurt22Troy) September 4, 2026
Johnny Walker opens up about his heavyweight debut at UFC 332.
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