Aspinall attempts to shut out noise ahead of Gane bout at UFC 321

On Saturday, UFC 321 will headline a championship doubleheader in Abu Dhabi. Tom Aspinall defends his UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in the main event.

After Jon Jones (28-1, 1 NC MMA) abruptly retired amid negotiations for an Aspinall fight falling through and eventually dropping charges from a February car crash, Aspinall (15-3 MMA), according to ESPN, was elevated to the title of undisputed UFC heavyweight champion this summer.

Aspinall, a native of Salford, England, stated to reporters on Thursday that as he attempts to write his own story and establish his legacy at heavyweight, he feels no pressure entering the fight with Gane (13-2 MMA).

Aspinall expressed his satisfaction in allowing the conflict to unfold naturally. I’ll take whatever comes my way, and I’ll do my best to finish it off.”

After unsuccessful fights against Jones at UFC 285 and Francis Ngannou (18-3 MMA) at UFC 270, Gane now has a third chance to win the undisputed heavyweight title. The 35-year-old Frenchman promises a far different performance on fight night after acknowledging that this might be his final chance.

Everyone is aware of Tom Aspinall’s advantages, Gane said. Everyone is aware of my weaknesses, so we’ll see on Saturday if I can do well in this situation.

With Virna Jandiroba facing Mackenzie Dern, the co-headliner reclaims the UFC strawweight title that is vacated. The fight was postponed after the promotion decided to stage a super fight between Shevchenko (25-4-1 MMA) and Weili Zhang (23-3 MMA) for the UFC 322 event that will take place next month in Madison Square Garden.

Both Brazilians say they are excited to face off knowing that a title is in the running for it. In December 2020, Ern (15-5 MMA) defeated Jandiroba (22-2 MMA) by unanimous decision. No one has ever won the UFC title belt.

Dern said, “It’s possible for me to beat her because I’ve done it once.” We are today’s completely different fighters. After I broke my nose, she started a remarkable winning streak. So, I went through hardship in that fight and emerged victorious, so that’s kind of what I learned from all of my fights in the process, just to see what you can overcome and keep surviving.”

Jandiroba acknowledges that opportunities for redemption don’t exist frequently, and that she has taken a lot from Dern’s first fight.

Through a translator, Jandiroba said, “It’s a rematch I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” The best part of the fight is that I get to avenge that defeat. And I asked the universe for his best (possibility), which I received.

Jandiroba is confident that the rematch will turn out differently without making any predictions.

The biggest lesson, according to Jandiroba, is to believe in yourself.

The 13-fight main card for the event starts at 2 p.m. ET/11 p.m. PT from Etihad Arena, with the main card beginning at 2 p.m.

The running bout order is available below, but it can be changed.

Main card for UFC 321

UFC heavyweight champion fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane
• vacant UFC strawweight title fight between Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern
• Bantamweight matchup between Mario Bautista and Umar Nurmagomedov
• Heavyweight fight between Jailton Almeida and Alexander Volkov.
• Lightweightweight fight between Azamat Murzakanov and Aleksandar Rakic