This is the moment Tom Aspinall has been waiting for. The most exciting heavyweight in the world was trapped in interim-champ purgatory until Jon Jones “retired” and relinquished the heavyweight strap in June. Handed the belt without truly winning it in the Octagon, Aspinall now gets his first chance to cement his reign atop the division on Saturday night at UFC 321. That won’t be an easy task against Ciryl Gane, a division staple and former champion in his own right.
The reigning champion enters as a heavy -345 moneyline favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while the former titleholder is listed as a +275 underdog. The total is set at 1.5 rounds.
Betting Splits
Aspinall has dominated the betting action, capturing a whopping 93% of total bets and 91% of the handle, while Gane lags far behind as a massive underdog with just 7% of wagers and 9% of the handle.
On the UFC 321 main card, the British heavyweight leads in both total bets and handle by a wide margin. The only fighter to come remotely close is 18-1 bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov, who has corralled 86% of bets as an overwhelming favorite against Mario Bautista.
Aspinall (15-3, 11 KOs) is riding a three-fight winning streak, all coming by first-round knockout. The longtime interim champ has never gone to the judges’ scorecards and boasts the shortest average fight time in UFC history at just 2:02. Gane (13-2, 6 KOs) has strung together two straight victories, most recently securing a split decision over Alexander Volkov last December. The French striker owns an impressive resume, with his only professional losses coming against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones.
Considering his track record, Aspinall is listed as a -105 favorite to win by KO/TKO/DQ, while a Gane knockout is priced at +450.
