It’s fight night in the United Arab Emirates. UFC 321 is set to go down on Saturday from Abu Dhabi as UFC returns to its former “Fight Island” as part of its annual journey to the Middle East. A pair of title fights are on the marquee with a heavyweight title fight tipping the bill. Newly crowned undisputed heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall looks for his first full title defense against Ciryl Gane. Plus, Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba are set to scrap it out for the now vacant women’s strawweight crown. It all goes down from the Eithad Arena on Saturday.
Aspinall now gets his chance as the leading man after two years of turmoil. He was one of four fighters ever to defend an interim title as Jones continued to avoid the matchup while fighting just once against Stipe Miocic, who made his first appearance in over four years. Aspinall’s lone blemish was avenged in that interim title defense when he TKO’d Curtis Blaydes. Aspinall lost that first meeting with Blaydes after suffering a knee injury in the opening minute of the bout. Gane, meanwhile, bounced back from his defeat to Jones with a pair of wins to earn his shot at the crown.
Be sure to keep up with all the action on Saturday with our live coverage that includes round-by-round scoring and updating fight results throughout the night!
Meanwhile, the second title fight is guaranteed to produce a new champion. Zhang Weili vacated the women’s strawweight crown when she made the decision to move up and challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight title. That left top contender Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern waiting in the wings to battle it out on Saturday. Jandiroba, 37, is on a five-fight win streak while Dern, 32, is 2-2 in her last four appearances.
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In addition, Umar Nurmagomedov looks to get back to a title opportunity when he takes on streaking contender Mario Bautista. Nurmagomedov, cousin of Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, lost his bout with Merab Dvalishvili for the title in January. But it’s the lone blemish on an otherwise impeccable resume. UFC CEO Dana White said on Thursday that if Nurmagomedov — or Bautista — truly impresses, the winner will get the next shot at the champion, after Dvalishvili takes on Petr Yan in December.
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 card, fight odds
- Tom Aspinall (c) -345 vs. Ciryl Gane +275, heavyweight title
- Mackenzie Dern -155 vs. Virna Jandiroba +130, vacant women’s strawweight title
- Umar Nurmagomedov def. Mario Bautista via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Alexander Volkov def. Jailton Almeida via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Azamat Murzakanov def. Aleksandar Rakic via first-round TKO (punches)
- Quillan Salkilld def. Nasrat Haqparast via first-round knockout (head kick)
- Ikram Aliskerov def. Jun Yong Park via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ludovit Klein def. Mateusz Rebecki via majority decision (29-28, 28-27, 28-28)
- Valter Walker def. Louie Sutherland via first-round submission (heel hook)
- Nathaniel Wood def. Jose Delgado via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Chris Barnett via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27, 29-27)
- Mitch Raposo def Azat Maksum via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
- Mizuki def. Jaqueline Amorim via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Where to watch UFC 321
Date: Saturday, Oct. 25 | Start time: 2 p.m. ET (main card)
Location: Etihad Arena — Yas Island, United Arab Emirates
Where to watch: ESPN+ PPV
UFC 321 countdown
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