UFC 321: The Tom Aspinall era gets underway
Michael Bolton
Tom Aspinall defends his heavyweight title for the first time as he takes on Cyril Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.
It may have been a long, unusual road to becoming a champion, but it is where most fans imagined Aspinall would be.
After becoming interim champion in 2023, Aspinall became one of the few fighters to defend an interim title against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.
Earlier this year, Jon Jones, who was the champion, retired from the sport, making the English fighter the champion.
A unique set of skills for the champion, Aspinall's opponents rarely make it out of the first round.
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Photo: Sofascore.[/caption]
His speed, combined with his boxing and wrestling, has been too much for those standing across from him in the Octagon.
Hoping to cause an upset on Saturday is Cyril Gane, in what will be the French fighter's third attempt at a title.
His first attempt was a disappointing decision defeat to Francis Ngnnou, where he was outwrestled in the championship rounds.
At UFC 285, Jones made light work of Gane to secure a first-round submission.
On the feet, Gane is one of the most talented fighters in the sport. However, his wrestling has been a clear weakness, and there are not many better to exploit it than Aspinall.
The start of this fight will be crucial. Aspinall will come out with everything he has to put Gane on the back foot and on the ground.
Gane has to dig deep and keep his distance early to get this fight into the later rounds, where nobody has seen Aspinall.
In the co-main event at UFC 321, there will be a new women's strawweight champion as Virna Jandiroba takes on Mackenzie Dern for the vacant title.
As Zhang Weili moves up to challenge for the flyweight title, both of these fighters have been presented with the opportunity to become champion.
For Jandiroba, she was likely to be the challenger regardless of what happened. On a five-fight win streak, Jandiroba has 14 submission wins in the UFC, in what should be a fascinating battle on the ground.
In Dern, she will have her hands full, and Dern will have the confidence of a previous win over the pair back in 2020.
On the ground, Dern can pull a submission out of anywhere, put has struggled in fights where she cannot figure out her opponent's reach.
Jandiroba will have the advantage in boxing, but will have to be alert at all times to the submission threat Dern poses.
Elsewhere on the main card, the next challenger for the heavyweight title will likely arise from Alexander Volkov v Jailton Almedia.
Volkov lost a controversial decision to Gane last December and will feel like it should be him fighting for the title on Saturday night.
The Russian fighter probably doesn't have many fights left in the sport, and has stumbled on title eliminators, so this has the makings of a must-win clash.
For Almedia, his style likely causes the most problems for Aspinall if they meet in the future. Not exactly the biggest athlete for heavyweight MMA, Almedia is one of the most well-rounded in the sport.
With 16 first-round finishes, expect a fast start and lots of takedowns in the first round. However, his defeat to Curtis Blaydes showed what can happen if his cardio does not hold up.
If Volkov can keep his distance and use his jab to his advantage, it could be the path to victory.
In the bantamweight division. Umar Nurmagomedov will be aiming to bounce back from the first defeat of his career when he faces Mario Bautisa.
Nurmagomedov lost to Merab Dvalishvili in his shot at the title in January, and suffered a injury during the fight.
Meanwhile, Bautisa comes into this bout having won his last eight fights, including wins over Patchy Mix and Jose Aldo.
