UFC 321 live analysis and results: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane
Tom Aspinall puts the undisputed heavyweight championship on the line for the first time Saturday against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
The event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates also brought together a new strawweight champion. Mackenzie Dern outpointed Virna Jandiroba in a five-round battle in which both fighters looked strong, but Dern was more precise and stronger defensively. This is now the second time Dern has beaten Jandiroba by unanimous decision. It was Dern’s 16th career victory and third in a row. Jandiroba improves to 22-4, with all of his losses coming by decision.
Aspinall (15-3) has won three fights in a row, all in 1 minute 13 seconds or more. He is No. 4 in the ESPN men’s pound-for-pound rankings.
For Gane (13-2), this is his third challenge for the UFC heavyweight title. Winner of two fights in a row, he is No. 2 in ESPN’s top 10 heavyweights.
Jandiroba (22-3) and Dern (15-5) met in 2020, with Dern winning a unanimous decision. Jandiroba is No. 10 in the ESPN women’s pound-for-pound rankings and No. 2 at strawweight. Dern is No. 6 at 115 pounds.
Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale, Jeff Wagenheim and Dre Waters follow all the action.
