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<\/a><\/p>\nABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 25: (R-L) Ciryl Gane of France punches Tom Aspinall of England in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 321 event at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n
Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane was fascinating for the four minutes it lasted.<\/p>\n
Contrary to the commentary booth, I thought both men were doing good work. Aspinall was pressing well, landing with occasional blitzes, a couple heavy high kicks, and some well-timed low kicks that knocked Gane off balance. Gane worked behind the Southpaw jab, landed a few linear kicks, and was finding his mark with inside low kicks as well. At one point, Gane timed Aspinall coming forward with a left that bloodied Aspinall\u2019s nose with the best punch of the fight.<\/p>\n
I liked the ideas of both men, and Gane\u2019s takedown defense held up early on. It really looked like we were in for an outstanding collision of high-level Heavyweights that continued to be good for more than two minutes. How long has it been since that happened?<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, a gnarly double eye poke from Ciryl Gane ended the contest. I assume the promotion will book an immediate rematch, and knowing how the UFC operates, it won\u2019t be signed quickly. We\u2019re looking at another four-to-six month wait for anything to happen in the Heavyweight division, which has already been punishingly boring and immobile since Francis Ngannou left.<\/p>\n
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 25: (R-L) Mackenzie Dern punches Virna Jandiroba of Brazil in the UFC strawweight championship fight during the UFC 321 event at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Dern Scraps Her Way To Gold<\/p>\n Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba was a decent, if repetitive, fight. Much like the first fight, it was very clearly two grapplers throwing down \u2026 for better or worse.<\/p>\n The difference-maker was Dern\u2019s athleticism, improved jab, and commitment to offense. She walked into plenty of wide Jandiroba swings, but they never affected her the same way as her sharp jabs into the eye socket. Dern has a horrible problem of squaring up after swinging and getting smacked on the counter, yet it hardly mattered here. Her punches hurt Jandiroba, whereas she could walk through the Brazilian\u2019s best punches.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a huge advantage.<\/p>\n Jandiroba tried to win this fight by wrestling. It was her best chance. She wasn\u2019t able to get much going from top position, however, because Dern was constantly switching her hips, kicking at the chest, and popping Jandiroba with elbows and hammer fists from bottom positions. Jandiroba could never get comfortable or advance position, because she was dealing with a master grappler and getting smacked in the face.<\/p>\n Dern did real damage from her back and generally made Jandiroba\u2019s life miserable in all possible positions. Alongside her power edge, Dern\u2019s relentless chipping away allowed her to slowly pull away as the fight wore on for a clear-cut decision win.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t expect the Dern title reign to last forever, but Jandiroba has proven herself an elite Strawweight. It\u2019s the best win of Dern\u2019s career and a worthy way to capture gold in a post-Zhang Weili division.<\/p>\n ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 25: Umar Nurmagomedov of Russia throws Mario Bautista in a bantamweight fight during the UFC 321 event at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n The Bantamweights Deliver<\/p>\n If you appreciate high-level scrambling, Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista was an awesome fight.<\/p>\n Nurmagomedov was definitely the superior wrestler, and though that trait ended up winning him the fight, Bautista was never deterred. He countered the very first takedown with a nasty twisting foot lock, which is hard move to finish yet saw Nurmagomedov limping when the final bell rang. From his back, Bautista was always working to scramble, throw up submissions, or dig elbows. As he worked to stand, he threatened switches and broke grips very well.<\/p>\n It was entertaining work and kept the bout moving.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for the MMA Lab representative, Nurmagomedov was a step ahead. For every time Bautista was able to break hands and escape, he was returned to the canvas twice. Nurmagomedov showed some crafty moves from top, like a transition from a cradle into the gift wrap position when Bautista reached back to break the grip. He countered Bautista\u2019s jiu-jitsu and wrestling stand-ups masterfully, always changing position just as Bautista appeared to be building towards an escape.<\/p>\n The question here is whether Nurmagomedov earned another shot at Merab Dvalishvili \u2014 I\u2019m not so sure. He looked damn good here but also was a little winded by the third. A bit of fatigue is totally understandable given the reckless pace Bautista pushed, yet it doesn\u2019t inspire confidence in a Merab rematch.<\/p>\n ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 25: (R-L) Azamat Murzakanov of Russia punches Aleksandar Rakic of Austria in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC 321 event at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to take Azamat Murzakanov seriously as a Light Heavyweight contender.<\/p>\n Despite his undefeated record, he\u2019s been an easy man to overlook. Small for the division, Murzakanov doesn\u2019t really look the part of a top contender, especially when compared to the statuesque Aleksandar Rakic. He\u2019s lost rounds to non-elite opposition, which is generally a concern as the level of competition rises. Yet, he keeps winning, and last night was no exception.<\/p>\n Rakic looked sharp for a couple minutes, employing the obvious game plan of ripping kicks and shooting takedowns on the smaller boxer (see below for more on that strategy). Murzakanov stuffed his takedowns surprisingly well, however, and he even checked a few of Rakic\u2019s kicks to good effect. The Austrian tried to mix it up and step forward with a combination because of Murzakanov\u2019s strong defense, but Murzakanov interrupted him with a perfectly timed jab to the chin.<\/p>\n Rakic hit the canvas hard.<\/p>\n It has to be mentioned that Rakic entered this fight on a rough run, but the man has only lost to champions: Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Magomed Ankalaev. Murzakanov just stopped him in more impressive fashion than any of those names, and he deserves to be considered in that same tier. Depending on how long Ankalaev needs to recover from UFC 320, that could be an ideal next matchup for both Russian standouts.<\/p>\n ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 25: (L-R) Quillan Salkilld of Australia kicks Nasrat Haqparast of Germany in a lightweight fight during the UFC 321 event at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Leading up to the \u201cPrelims\u201d headliner of Nasrat Haqparast vs. Quillan Salkilld, my immediate thought was, \u201cWho the hell is Salkilld again?\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ll never ask that question again.<\/p>\n The 25-year-old Aussie stepped up on short-notice for this matchup. Haqparast entered riding a five-fight win streak over quality opposition, seemingly ready for a ranked foe. Salkilld may have been 2-0 inside the Octagon ahead of this fight, but he had yet to separate himself from the pack of numerous Contender Series newbies who come and go each year.<\/p>\n The fight only lasted half a round, but Salkilld showed his skills in that span. He used the threat of takedowns to keep Haqparast from pushing too hard, buying himself the time to blast kicks at distance. He played the all the way in, all the way out game well, making it difficult for his opponent to find the pocket and box. Salkilld stuck his opponent with a front kick then went outside with a power high kick, taking advantage of the open stance match up.<\/p>\n It landed perfectly. As Salkilld himself said in the post-fight interview, the nature of open stance fighting is both men should be spamming power kicks often. In this case, Salkilld threw his with beautiful form, and his size advantage surely helped him put shin to target with a bit of extra fluidity.<\/p>\n Haqparast didn\u2019t get up for a long while.<\/p>\n ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 25: (R-L) Valter Walker of Brazil secures a heel hook submission against Louie Sutherland of England in a heavyweight fight during the UFC 321 event at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Valter Walker did it AGAIN!<\/p>\n For the fourth consecutive time, Walker scored an easy heel hook submission in the very first round. He wrapped up Louie Sutherland with a quick takedown along the fence and then immediately dropped onto the leg, securing the outside heel hook for a quick tap in just 84 seconds. Sutherland tried to roll to defend, but his efforts didn\u2019t produce any space.<\/p>\n Does this victory mean anything for Walker\u2019s future as a Heavyweight contender? Not really. It just proves he\u2019s really good at quickly tapping low-level Heavyweights. Still, he\u2019s now 15-1 overall and is riding a four-fight win streak. Walker has earned a shot at ranked opposition, and I\u2019m sure at least a couple of \u2018em are equally vulnerable to the dark arts of leg locking.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n