For the first time in 11 months, the UFC Undisputed Heavyweight Championship will be on the line as Tom Aspinall defends it against former Interim Champion Ciryl Gane in the Main Event of UFC 321. This event is taking place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Aspinall is a -345 favorite while Gane is a +275 underdog. Aspinall is -275 to win by KO/TKO/DQ or submission.
The co-main event is a vacant Women’s Strawweight title bout between No. 1 Virna Jandiroba vs. No. 5 Mackenzie Dern. Zhang Weili, the previous 115-pound champion, is moving up to the Flyweight division to take on Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322. Dern is a -142 favorite as Jandiroba is +120.
4:57 p.m. ET: Aspinall vs. Gane ends via no contest
Both fighters moved forward and began throwing punches. Aspinall’s nose was bleeding a minute into the round. Gane landed a few combinations, but Aspinall’s power was noticeable. Aspinall and Gane were both fighting with their hands down.
Gane went in for a punch but landed an eye poke on Aspinall. Aspinall was unable to continue due to the eye poke, and the referee ruled it unintentional, resulting in a no contest. Even though it was a no-contest, Aspinall remains the UFC Undisputed Champion.
4:28 p.m. ET: Mackenzie Dern defeats Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision (48-48, 48-47, 49-46)
For the second time in her career, Mackenzie Dern beat Virna Jandiroba and is now the new UFC Strawweight Champion. This is Dern’s third consecutive win. Before this contest, Dern was +225 to win this fight by decision.
Dern landed 35 more significant strikes than Jandiroba. In this bout, Dern finished with 3:45 of control time with two takedowns, while Jandiroba had 9:07 of control time and nine takedowns.
Up next: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane for the UFC Heavyweight title
Jandiroba vs. Dern – Round 5
Dern and Jandiroba traded strikes back and forth in the final round. Jandiroba gained control on the ground, but the fight eventually ended on the feet. This was a close round, but I give the edge to Dern.
10-9, 49-46 Dern
Jandiroba vs. Dern – Round 4
The majority of the action took place on the feet in this round, and it favored Dern. Jandiroba began to land at the end of the round, but Dern finished the fourth in control on the ground. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Dern is a -425 favorite while Jandiroba is a +300 underdog.
10-9, 39-37 Dern
Jandiroba vs. Dern – Round 3
Dern began to unload punches off her back on the ground, which was effective. After Dern was passive in the second round, she was aggressive in the third. Dern controlled the pace in this round, as Jandiroba wasn’t active enough. Jandiroba landed another takedown at the end of the round, but didn’t do enough.
10-9, 29-28 Dern
Jandiroba vs. Dern – Round 2
Dern shot for a takedown of her own early in the second round. Jandiroba connected and had a higher output on the feet to start the round. The next time Jandiroba got Dern down, she landed some ground and pound. Dern picked up steam toward the end of the second. This was a close round, but Jandiroba was the more active fighter.
10-9 Jandiroba, 19-19
Jandiroba vs. Dern – Round 1
Dern landed a few nice kicks at the start of the round, and her quickness was noticeable from the beginning of the fight. Dern was gaining confidence throughout the round after landing a few punches. Jandiroba landed her second takedown attempt, but it didn’t take long for Dern to get back to her feet. Even though Jandiroba finished with two takedowns, Dern did more damage in the first round.
10-9 Dern
3:37 p.m. ET: Umar Nurmagomedov defeats Mario Bautista by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Umar Nurmagomedov got back in the win column against Mario Bautista. Nurmagomedov advances to 19-1 in his career and could very well be the next challenger for the Bantamweight title. In this fight, Nurmagomedov finished with 10:46 of control time while completing 10 of 14 takedown attempts. Both fighters recorded 18 significant strikes in this bout.
Nurmagomedov took Bautista down right away, but Bautista got back to his feet. Bautista had Nurmagomedov in a submission, but he was unable to finish it. When Bautista was trying to get up, Nurmagomedov took his back.
Bautista landed a big knee to drop Nurmagomedov at the start of the second round. But Nurmagomedov responded well and scored another takedown. Bautista continued to move around, and they ended the second round on their feet.
In the third round, they spent more time striking, but Nurmagomedov still mixed in the necessary takedowns to win the round and fight. Although Bautista lost, he put up a good effort and never quit during the contest.
Up next: Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern in a UFC Strawweight Championship Bout
3:03 p.m. ET: Alexander Volkov defeats Jailton Almeida by split decision (29-28 Almeida, 29-28 Volkov, 29-28 Volkov)
Although it wasn’t the most exciting fight, Alexander Volkov beat Jailton Almeida by split decision. Volkov outlanded Almeida 123-27 in total strikes. Almeida and Volkov combined for 33 significant strikes. Almeida finished with 10:47 of control time and seven takedowns, while Volkov had 2:57 of control time.
The second this fight started, Almeida immediately took Volkov down. After Almeida couldn’t advance positions, Volkov gained control on the ground. Volkov landed a few significant ground and pound punches. Almeida had the same game plan as in the first round: take Volkov down in the first minute. After multiple takedown attempts, Almeida was finally able to take Volkov’s back. Almeida landed three of four takedown attempts in the second round, with over four minutes of control time.
In the third round, Volkov was more aggressive when Almeida attempted his takedown. But Almeida eventually got him down once again. Volkov has now won five of his last six contests. Volkov was +160 to beat Almeida before the fight on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Up next: Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista in a three-round Bantamweight bout.
2:29 p.m. ET: Azamat Murzakanov defeats Aleksandar Rakic by first-round KO/TKO
Azamat Murzakanov moves to 16-0 with 12 knockouts after beating Aleksandar Rakic in the first round at UFC 321. Murzakanov is now 6-0 in the UFC and has won his previous three contests by knockout. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Murzakanov was +100 to win this fight, +200 to win via KO/TKO/DQ and +450 to win by knockout in the first round.
From the start of this contest, Rakic seemed comfortable and was dictating the pace. The size difference was evident from the beginning of the bout. But after successfully defending Rakic’s takedown attempts, Murzakanov unloaded on Rakic, leading to a big knockout.
Up next: Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida in a three-round Heavyweight bout.
Main Card
UFC Heavyweight Championship Bout: Tom Aspinall (c) vs. #1 Ciryl Gane
UFC Strawweight Championship Bout: #1 Virna Jandiroba vs. #5 Mackenzie Dern
Bantamweight Bout: #2 Umar Nurmagomedov vs. #9 Mario Bautista
Heavyweight Bout: #2 Alexander Volkov vs. #5 Jailton Almeida
Light Heavyweight Bout: #7 Aleksandar Rakic vs. #9 Azamat Murzakanov
Results for the Prelims
Quillan Salkilld def. Nasrat Haqparast via first-round knockout
Middleweight: 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
Nathaniel Wood def. Jose Miguel 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 Inoue def. Jaqueline Amorim via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
