Tom Aspinall’s fight with Ciryl Gane was a disaster, but the inconclusive result sets up a rematch. Gane dominated the undisputed champion for four and a half minutes. But an eyepoke ruined UFC 321’s main event. Fans left the arena in a frenzy before the official results were announced, expressing their disappointment. Although the ending was deflating, it prevented matchmakers booking a title bout that no one wanted to see. Mackenzie Dern is now the face of the women’s division after she won the vacant strawweight title. In the wake of the turbulent UFC 321 event, take a closer look at some of the most compelling fights for the stars.HeavyweightTom Aspiall vs. Ciryl Ganes: Perhaps the only positive to the Saturday night’s events is the fact that both men will have a great next fight. Alexander Volkov is deserving of a title shot but his win over Jailton almeida was a tepid one and his previous loss to Aspinall in the first round did not inspire confidence. Gane had the fight won until Aspinall poked him in the eye. In a rematch, Gane would be much less of an underdog and possibly even a favorite. Aspinall’s injury will heal soon, so we hope to run the rematch between November and January.
Alexander Volkov is up against Waldo Cortes-Acosta, or Ante Delija. Unfortunately, Volkov’s hopes of winning the title are in doubt. Volkov has no choice but to fight Gane next, since he is the only fighter ranked higher than him. Volkov, unless he’s willing to wait or fight Gane for the interim title – if Aspinall requires time to heal – is best to face the winner of this week’s heavyweight bout between Acosta vs Delija. The winner of this fight is likely to be ranked as No. It’s 6 and Volkov is on a win streak. It sucks that Volkov will have to prove himself in consecutive (ostensibly) title eliminators, but these things happen in the chaotic fight game.Jailton Almeida vs. Marcin Tybura: It’s tough to sell an Almeida fight at this point. He spent nearly 15 minutes doing little else than spamming one leg takedowns. He was right to lose the fight against Volkov. Almeida could be smothered if a rising fighter is paired with him. Tybura is No. The 10th ranked fighter is coming off of a knockout defeat and has no real prospects to fight for a championship. It’s a fine, low-stakes fight for both men.Women’s strawweightMackenzie Dern vs. Tatiana Suarez: Should Zhang Weili return to 115 after fighting Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322, she should get an immediate title shot. Zhang Weili, however, is a flyweight and we will exclude her from the discussion. Suarez lost to Zhang in an lopsided fight, and his stock has plummeted. But there aren’t any compelling contenders at this weight division. Amanda Lemos and Yan Xiaonan are all winners over Dern, but they have lost recently. Suarez is ranked No. Suarez is ranked No. This is enough to get a shot at the title in this division.
Virna Jandiroba vs. Iasmin Lucindo or Gillian Robertson: Lucindo and Robertson meet in a clash of top 10 strawweights in December. Jandiroba is a good test for the victor, and for Jandiroba it would be an excellent bounce-back bout. Jandiroba, who has fought many of her peers near the top of their division, will have to either look down the card, or continue playing gatekeeper.
2025-10-26 11:00:51
