UFC 321 Facts And Figures After Thrilling Oct. 25 Show

UFC 321 brought with it a mixed bag of emotions. In the main event, newly-minted heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall endeavored to begin his reign in glorious fashion, but an errant double eye poke from challenger Ciryl Gane rendered the Englishman unable to continue.


While that championship bout came to a disappointing conclusion, Mackenzie Dern solidified her place at the head of the pack at strawweight by toppling the dominant Virna Jandiroba to claim the belt following the departure of former 115-lb queen Weili Zhang. 

Now, here are some interesting post-event tidbits from from UFC 321.

December 7, 2024, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: CIRYL GANE 13-2-0 of La Roche-sur-Yon, France defeats ALEXANDER VOLKOV 38-10-0 of Moscow, Russia by split decision 29-28,28-29,29-28 during the UFC 310 event at the T Mobile Arena, Las Vegas Las Vegas USA – ZUMAo117 20241207_zsp_o117_061 Copyright: xMikaelxOnax

UFC 321: Azamat Murzakanov def. Aleksandar Rakić

Azamat Murzakanov

Murzakanov’s victory over Aleksandar Rakić is his sixteenth professional win in a row since making his debut back in 2010. It also marked his tenth first round finish, with nine of those ending by knockout 

He has now won his last three contests by stoppage.

Aleksandar Rakić

Rakic’s UFC 321 loss to Murzakanov was the first time he had ever been finished in the first round. It’s also his fourth straight defeat, losing previously to former champions Jan Błachowicz, Jiří Procházka and Magomed Ankalaev

He has not gotten his hand raised after a tilt since besting Thiago Santos at UFC 259 in 2021. 

UFC 321: Alexander Volkov def. Jailton Almeida

Alexander Volkov

His UFC 321 win over Almeida put himself back into the win column after previously losing to main event competitor Ciryl Gane last year. It also was the first time he had won a fight by split decision since winning his UFC debut back in 2016 against Tim Johnson. 

11 of his 39 professional victories have now come via the judge’s scorecards. 

His promotional record now stands at 13-5.  

Jailton Almeida

Almeida’s UFC 321 loss to Volkov saw him land only nine significant strikes, the lowest he has recorded in a UFC bout that went the distance.  He also logged 10:47 of control time, making it the second most he has garnered in a company scrap behind his match Derrick Lewis back in 2022, where he clocked in over 20 minutes.

He has now gone 2-2 in his last four trips to the cage

UFC 321: Umar Nurmagomedov def. Mario Bautista 

Umar Nurmagomedov

Nurmagomedov’s win over Bautista is his return to the winner’s circle after losing to current bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 314 this past January. He also set a new organizational record for himself in the fight, landing 11 takedowns.

Ten of his 19 victories as a professional have now come from the scorecards. 

Mario Bautista

Bautista’s defeat to Nurmagomedov spelled the end of his eight-bout win streak, which has lasted since 2022. This was the first time in his professional tenure that he lost a tilt by decision. 

His three setbacks as a professional have all happened in the UFC.

UFC 321: Mackenzie Dern def. Virna Jandiroba

Mackenzie Dern

Dern’s championship win over Jandiroba saw her land 118 significant strikes, making it the most she had recorded in a UFC contest since her main event showcase against Angela Hill back in 2023. She has now won her last three bouts in a row. 

She now begins her reign as just the sixth strawweight champion in promotional history.

Virna Jandiroba

Jandiroba’s loss to Dern brought to an end her previous five-fight win streak which had lasted for three years. Her appearance at UFC 321 marked her first company title fight. 

Her UFC record now stands at 8-4

UFC 321: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane (No-Contest)

Tom Aspinall

Aspinall’s match at UFC 321 marked his first fight since UFC 304 last year. The bout was meant to be his first title defense since being promoted to undisputed champion after holding the interim strap for over a year.

He is now 4-1 with one no-contest in his last six tilts.

Ciryl Gane

His appearance at UFC 321 was the third time he has vied for the organization’s permanent heavyweight belt, falling previously to Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones respectively. He had not fought since prevailing over Alexander Volkov at UFC 310 last December. 

This was the first time a UFC championship bout had ended via a no contest since UFC 214 after Jones failed a post-fight drug test, resulting in his initial belt-winning knockout win over Daniel Cormier to be overturned.