It's a night of fighting in the United Arab Emirates. UFC 321 takes place Saturday in Abu Dhabi as the UFC returns to its former “Fight Island” as part of its annual trip to the Middle East. A pair of title fights will be the focus, with the heavyweight title fight being the deciding factor. Newly crowned undisputed heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is looking to make his first full title defense against Cyril Gane. Additionally, Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba are set to compete for the now vacant women's strawweight crown. All this will happen at the Eithad Arena on Saturday.
Aspinall now gets his chance to become leader after two years of turmoil. He was one of four fighters to ever defend the interim title as Jones continued to avoid fighting, fighting just once against Stipe Miocic, who was making his first appearance in over four years. Aspinall's only blemish was avenged during his interim title defense when he defeated Curtis Blaydes by TKO. Aspinall lost that first meeting with Blaydes with a knee injury in the first minute of the fight. Meanwhile, Gane bounced back from his loss to Jones with a pair of wins and a shot at the crown.
Be sure to stay up to date with all the events on Saturday from our live broadcast including round scoring and updating the battle results all night!
Meanwhile, a second title fight is guaranteed to produce a new champion. Zhang Weili vacated the women's flyweight crown when she made the decision to step up and challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight title. As a result, top contenders Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern are waiting in the wings to fight on Saturday. Jandiroba, 37, is riding a five-fight winning streak while Dern, 32, is 2-2 in her last four matches.
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In addition, Umar Nurmagomedov is hoping to return to title opportunities by taking on successful contender Mario Bautista. Nurmagomedov, the cousin of Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, lost his title fight to Merab Dvalishvili in January. But this is the only flaw in an impeccable resume. UFC CEO Dana White said Thursday that if Nurmagomedov or Bautista do impress, the winner will get the next chance to fight the champion after Dvalishvili faces Petr Yan in December.
Below is the full UFC 321 fight card, along with the latest odds. Stay tuned throughout the week for news, updates and other content related to this massive event.
UFC 321 card, fight odds
- Tom Aspinall (c) -345 vs. Cyril Gane +275, heavyweight title
- Mackenzie Dern -155 vs. Virna Jandiroba +130, vacant women's strawweight title
- Umar Nurmagomedov -625 vs. Mario Bautista +455, bantamweight
- Jaylton Almeida -225 vs. Alexander Volkov +185, heavyweights
- Azamat Murzakanov -115 vs. Alexander Rakic ​​-105, light heavyweight
- Nasrat Haqparast -112 vs. Quillan Salkilld -108, middleweight
- Ikram Aliskerov def. Joon Young Park via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Lodovit Klein def. Matthew Rebecchi by majority decision (29–28, 28–27, 28–28)
- Walter Walker def. Louis Sutherland by submission in the first round (heel hook)
- Nathaniel Wood def. Jose Delgado via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Hamdi Abdelwahab def. Chris Barnett via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27, 29-27)
- Mitch Raposo defeated Azat Makkum via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
- Mizuki def. Jacqueline Amorim via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Where to watch UFC 321
Date: Saturday 25 October | Start time: 2:00 PM ET (Main Map)
Location: Etihad Arena – Yas Island, United Arab Emirates
Where to watch: ESPN+ PPV
UFC 321 countdown
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