Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane prediction | UFC 321 breakdown
MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom offers his breakdown and prediction for the UFC 320 main event.
Dan Tom
It’s won’t be a UFC heavyweight title unifier against Jon Jones, but Tom Aspinall will finally return to the octagon when he meets Ciryl Gane. This heavyweight championship bout scheduled for five rounds is taking place Saturday, October 25 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
After it was long expected, and even guaranteed by UFC CEO Dana White, that then-interim champ Aspinall would fight Jones in a highly anticipated title unification bout, the plan changed after Jones retired and relinquished the belt this past June, opening the door for Gane’s third attempt at winning the undisputed UFC title.
Aspinall will enter UFC 321 on a tear, with all 15 of his career wins by stoppage and his average UFC fight time standing at 2:02, the shortest in the promotion’s history. Aside from an unfortunate injury TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes in July 2022, Aspinall has finished his eight other UFC fights against the likes of Serghei Spivac, Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura, Sergei Pavlovich, and most recently a rematch with Blaydes to defend the interim title in July 2024.
Gane will head into UFC 321 on a two-fight winning streak after defeating Spivac and most recently Volkov by split decision this past December. Gane, a former interim champ, has come up short in his two previous undisputed UFC title fights against Francis Ngannou in January 2022 and Jones in March 2023.
Here are the walkout times for the UFC 321 main event between Aspinall and Gane.
When does the UFC 321 fight card start?
The UFC 321 lineup consists of 13 fights. Prelims start at 10 a.m. ET, and the pay-per-view main card at 2 p.m. ET.
Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane walkout time
As the main event, Aspinall and Gane are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET.
The fight streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
