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Tom Aspinall is the undisputed heavyweight champion. Aspinall finally put Jon Jones in the rearview mirror after Jones vacated the belt instead of unifying it with Aspinall, the previous interim champ. Aspinall makes his first undisputed title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
Aspinall spent far more time as interim champion than he should have. He even defended the interim title against Curtis Blaydes, one of a small handful of interim champs ever to defend their titles. However, that’s all in the past, and Aspinall presses forward as the division’s rightful ruler. Aspinall’s combination of speed, power and technique is revolutionary. He’s finished every UFC opponent he’s fought. His only UFC loss is a TKO leg injury to Blaydes, which he avenged. Former interim champion Gane has a lot to prove. Arguably the division’s best pure striker, questionable takedown defense and lapses in judgment contribute to his underdog status.
UFC 321 also features a second title fight. Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern run it back for the vacant women’s strawweight title. The fight was booked after Zhang Weili relinquished the title to challenge women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322. Dern beat Jandiroba in 2020, but Jandiroba has been the more consistent fighter since. Jandiroba is 6-1 since their last fight; meanwhile, Dern is 5-4.
There’s an important undercard bout this weekend as well in bantamweight division when Umar Nurmagomedov returns to take on Mario Bautista. Nurmagomedov came up short in his title bid against Merab Dvalishvili in January — a fight he still believes he won — but now must holds on to his place in the pecking order in hopes of getting a second crack at the 135-pound title. Bautista, meanwhile, is coming off three straight decision wins as he climbs the rankings with victories over Ricky Simon, Jose Aldo and Patchy Mix.
Below is the complete fight card for UFC 321 along with the latest odds. Check back all week long for the latest news, features and other content around this massive event.
UFC 321 fight card, odds
- Tom Aspinall (c) -345 vs. Ciryl Gane +275, heavyweight championship
- Mackenzie Dern -155 vs. Virna Jandiroba +130, vacant women’s strawweight championship
- Umar Nurmagomedov -625 vs. Mario Bautista +455, bantamweights
- Jailton Almeida -225 vs. Alexander Volkov +185, heavyweights
- Azamat Murzakanov -115 vs. Aleksandar Rakic -105, light heavyweights
- Nasrat Haqparast -112 vs. Quillan Salkilld -108, middleweights
- Ikram Aliskerov -245 vs. Junyong Park +200, middleweights
- Ludovit Klein -135 vs. Mateusz Rebecki +114, lightweights
- Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady -118 vs. Matheus Camilo -102, lightweights
- Valter Walker -360 vs. Louie Sutherland +285, heavyweights
- Jose Delgado -148 vs. Nathaniel Wood +124, bantamweights
- Hamdy Abdelwahab -425 vs. Chris Barnett +330, heavyweights
- Azat Maksum -375 vs. Mitch Raposo +295, flyweights
- Jaqueline Amorim -410 vs. Mizuki Inoue +320, women’s strawweights
UFC 321 info
- Date: Oct. 25
- Location: Etihad Arena — Yas Island, United Arab Emirates
- Start time: 2 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+ PPV
