Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane ended disastrously, however no less than the inconclusive ending units the stage for a direct rematch. For four-plus minutes, Gane overdelivered towards the undisputed champ, however an errant eyepoke introduced UFC 321’s predominant occasion to an unceremonious finish.
Aspinall vs. Gane resulted in a no-contest after Aspinall’s imaginative and prescient was compromised on Saturday. The followers fanned out of the sector earlier than the official outcome, underscoring their disappointment. The ending was definitely deflating, nevertheless it rescues matchmakers from reserving a title combat that few are all in favour of seeing.
The ladies’s strawweight division additionally has a brand new poster baby after Mackenzie Dern gained the vacant title. With former champion Zhang Weili transferring as much as problem Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322, there’s one clear contender for Dern’s first title protection.
Within the aftermath of a turbulent UFC 321, check out the perfect fights to make for Saturday’s stars.
Heavyweight
Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane: Possibly the one silver lining to Saturday’s ending is that you’ve got a compelling subsequent combat for each males. Alexander Volkov deserves a title shot, however his tepid win over Jailton Almeida and former first-round loss to Aspinall did not encourage confidence. Gane was profitable the combat up till he poked Aspinall within the eye. As such, Gane will probably be a a lot smaller underdog or probably a favourite in a rematch. Hopefully, Aspinall’s eye heals rapidly, and we are able to run this one again between November and January.
Alexander Volkov vs. Waldo Cortes Acosta or Ante Delija: Sadly, the principle occasion’s conclusion casts doubt on Volkov’s title aspirations. With solely Gane ranked forward of him, there is not any higher-ranked contender for him to combat subsequent. Volkov’s greatest guess, until he needs to attend it out or combat Gane for an interim title — if Aspinall wants time to heal — is to tackle the winner of subsequent week’s heavyweight conflict between Acosta and Delija. The winner of that combat will doubtless be ranked No. 6 and on a profitable streak. It sucks that Volkov must show himself in consecutive (ostensibly) title eliminators, however these items occur within the chaotic combat recreation.
Jailton Almeida vs. Marcin Tybura: It is robust to promote an Almeida combat at this level. He spent quarter-hour spamming a single leg takedown and doing nearly nothing else. He deserved the loss to Volkov on Saturday. Placing a rising contender in with Almeida dangers them getting smothered by heavyweight’s moist blanket. Tybura is ranked No. 10, coming off a knockout loss with no critical prospects of preventing for a title. It is a high quality, low-stakes combat for each males.
Girls’s strawweight
Mackenzie Dern vs. Tatiana Suarez: Ought to Zhang Weili return to 115 after preventing Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322, she ought to get a direct title shot. However Zhang is at the moment a flyweight fighter, so we’ll omit her from the dialog. Suarez’s inventory plummeted in a one-sided loss to Zhang, however there aren’t any compelling contenders within the division. Amanda Lemos, Yan Xiaonan and Jessica Andrade all have wins over Dern however are coming off losses. Suarez is ranked No. 1 within the division and is coming off a bounce-back win. That is sufficient to earn a title shot with the division’s present state.
Virna Jandiroba vs. Iasmin Lucindo or Gillian Robertson: Lucindo and Robertson meet in a conflict of high 10 strawweights in December. Jandiroba can be an acceptable take a look at for the winner, and the winner can be a strong bounce-back combat for Jandiroba. Sadly, Jandiroba has already fought most of her contemporaries close to the highest of the division, so she’ll need to look additional down the cardboard or proceed to play gatekeeper.
