UFC 321 is in the books, and Tom Aspinall remains the heavyweight champion, but not because he beat Ciryl Gane.
Saturday’s main event was cut short by an eye poke from Ciryl Gane that rendered Aspinall unable to continue, resulting in a no-contest. Needless to say, the outcome was unsatisfying for everyone, so let’s discuss the big controversy, Mackenzie Dern’s title win, and the rest of UFC 321.
1. What is your blurb review of UFC 321?
Lee: Mackenzie Dern is A UFC CHAMPION.
Heck: Disappointing ending, but learned some things along the way,
and actually had a good time for most of it.
Martin: Eye spy a heavyweight division that staved off extinction for a little while longer.
Meshew: I had a really good time, but I might be the only one.
2. So… about that main event. Could that have gone worse?
Lee: I mean, if fight fans were looking for controversy and debate coming out of this card, it actually turned out pretty good!
Think about how boring another fast Aspinall finish would have been. We would have had to endure four more months of “If Jon Jones is coming back, will he finally fight Aspinall?” or “Hey, Alex Pereira wants to be a heavyweight, he should get Aspinall right away.” Then he’d end up fighting Alexander Volkov again or something. Now, he can run it back with Gane, and the fight can actually have some heat, because from what I could tell, fans weren’t exactly hanging on every word this week from Saturday’s headliners.
So yes, it could have gone plenty worse (a Gane win would also have raised more questions about the current state of the heavyweight division), and while I sympathize with anyone who paid their hard-earned cash to watch this whether at Etihad Arena or from home, Aspinall hitting another bump in the road ahead of what could still be a fruitful title run will hopefully be looked at as a mere footnote when we’re looking back on all of this.
Heck: For those who spent $79.99 plus tax, for those hoping for abrupt movement in a horrible division, and for Ciryl Gane, no. This was the worst-case scenario. Now the Tom Aspinall side is where I’m a little stuck. For Aspinall, it sucks, but there are still some silver linings.
Gents, I’m sure you’ve seen it as well. A surprising chunk of the fan base is calling Aspinall a “quitter,” or saying he was “looking for a way out” against Gane because he didn’t mow him down in two minutes and didn’t continue after getting his eyes stabbed. I think that’s ridiculous, despite what Chael Sonnen and Anthony Smith say — who, by the way, have had some pretty awful takes and have never been where Aspinall is right now. There’s no doubt in the court of public opinion as a whole, Aspinall’s stock has dropped, fair or unfair. But he is still the UFC heavyweight champion, no matter how crappy his social media life is going to be for the next couple of weeks.
As far as another clear positive, there are three things I believe in when it comes to MMA. One, if you don’t see news on MMA Fighting, it’s not real. Two, we can’t miss you if you don’t leave. And three, and this extends to all sports, no matter what is going on, or whatever happened in your most recent moments in the spotlight, winning changes everything. So if Aspinall wrecks Gane in the runback, this result gets forgotten.
Martin: As far as the actual result, and for the folks that spent money on tickets or the pay-per-view, it’s a pretty terrible ending. But Ciryl Gane looking as good as he did early in the fight, busting up Tom Aspinall’s nose and likely forcing the heavyweight champion to see a second round for only the second time in his UFC career actually makes the rematch more intriguing.
That said, an eye poke and a fighter being unable to continue is just about as bad as it gets, especially when you’re trying to establish Aspinall as the best heavyweight in the world while competing against truly lackluster competition. Suddenly, the narrative around Aspinall is changing from the guy who retired Jon Jones without ever throwing a punch to the champ who punked out of a fight he was losing by “pretending” his eye wasn’t mangled.
Is that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever read? Yes, it should be, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t saying it.
It’s no different than Aljamain Sterling being vilified for not continuing against Petr Yan or Belal Muhammad not being able to fight after Leon Edwards stabbed him with an eye poke. Now it seems like Aspinall is facing those same kind of accusations, and that’s the worst-case scenario for by far the most marketable heavyweight currently active and available on the UFC roster.
Meshew: No, this was the actual worst-case scenario.
For the past few years, the UFC heavyweight division has been in shambles, both because the talent pool is so shallow and because the UFC aggressively mismanaged the whole thing. Letting Jon Jones hold the title hostage for over a year so he could engage in a vanity title defense against an old man stymied an already weak division. Finally, Jones gave up the belt, and we were in a place where the young, exciting champion could carry us into a new era. Then this happens. YEESH.
While a Gane win wouldn’t have been ideal, at least that’s a real outcome. Instead, we have a result that disappointed and angered a lot of the fan base, and turned many against the current heavyweight champion, through no fault of his own. Even something like an injury TKO win for Gane would’ve been better than a no-contest. This was an outright catastrophe.
3. Mackenzie Dern is finally a UFC champion. What’s next?
Meshew: A glorious victory lap for all six people who never gave up on the “Mackenzie Dern will be champion” dream. Who is laughing now, haters?!?!?!
Look, is Dern going to go on a long title reign that will bring stability to the division in the wake of Zhang Weili’s abdication? Unlikely. But you never know, and more importantly, 115 is fun again. If Zhang had stayed at strawweight, she would have held the belt for another five years, and no title fight would have ever been interesting. Now? Almost any woman in the strawweight rankings is live to win the belt. That might not be “good,” but it’s certainly fun. Chaos is always interesting.
So with that in mind, let me pitch you my chaotic idea: Dana White should put a phone call in to former champion and Hall of Famer Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Joanna is wildly popular and, even off the couch, would probably thump Dern up, giving the UFC a champion they want to promote. OR Dern exceeds expectations, pulls off the win, and now she’s a real champion that people can get behind. Win-win.
Lee: Still processing.
I don’t know if I ever truly gave up on Mackenzie Dern becoming UFC champion, but I’m certain I’ve played the “Hey, Mackenzie Dern might never become UFC champion and that’s OK!” song before either in a post or on a podcast. Dern has always been a fun fighter to have around, well-liked by the UFC and good for a bit of chaos (and frustration) every time she steps into the cage.
We all know she’s not the true No. 1 strawweight as long as Zhang Weili walks the earth, but that shouldn’t stop her from building her own legacy. Look at Islam Makhachev, Alex Pereira, and, heck, even Ilia Topuria. All of these dudes became champions in the wake of an all-time great leaving the division, and you don’t see anyone diminishing their accomplishments.
(And yes, I swear that’s the last time I group Dern with Makhachev, Pereira, and Topuria.)
So bring on fresh challengers, bring on the rematches, and if Dern has truly evolved—as I believe she has—she can become the kind of champion we might not remember as an all-time great, but still pretty darn good.
Heck: Tough question, although if Jed’s scenario plays true, it would be spectacular — and I’ll also add that Dern should hope that Zhang Weili stays at 125 for the foreseeable future.
But playing things out in real time, and if Zhang is done cutting to 115 forever, Dern has some options. I know the new champ mentioned Tatiana Suarez as a possible next opponent, but that’s a tough ask right now. Suarez got dusted up by Zhang earlier this year, and the UFC gave her a perfect bounce-back fight stylistically against a former title challenger, and, with all things considered and weighed, Suarez won the worst fight of 2025 in the UFC. There’s no way you can give her a title fight after that performance. So there are two options in play, in my eyes.
Suarez fights Loopy Godinez next; the winner gets the shot, as long as the performance is somewhat memorable. The other option is to reward a new face, either way. On Dec. 13, Gillian Robertson is fighting Iasmin Lucindo — two surging contenders. I wouldn’t hate the winner of that fight getting the shot either.
Martin: It really did feel like a long time coming for Mackenzie Dern to finally capture UFC gold, and never mind the fact that she never beat a defending champion, she’s got the belt now!
Dern was once called “the next Ronda Rousey,” which seems crazy looking back on things, but she’s remained a viable contender for years, and she’s finally reached the apex of the sport. Will she end up being a long-reigning champion? That’s a tough question to answer because, like it or not, Dern has been wildly inconsistent at times, and she’s never truly separated herself from the pack when it comes to the best of the best at strawweight.
So who’s next?
Let’s see how Gillian Robertson and Iasmin Lucindo look in December because the winner of that fight might be primed for Dern’s first title defense. Both are very winnable fights for the new champion, and stability might be more important right now than truly compelling matchups. Strawweight isn’t exactly looking great these days, but Dern is a popular, likeable champion. Keeping her on top works for the UFC, so book the fights that give her the best chance to stay there.
4. Who stole the show at UFC 321?
Lee: Rich Mitchell.
Who? Some of you are asking. Why, that’s only the hero referee who took away a point in the second fight of the night and set the tone for the rest of the evening.
When Azat Maksum was desperately defending against Mitch Raposo’s grappling, he used a blatant grab of the fence to reverse position and put himself on top of Raposo. It was a blatant—and smart—disregard of the rules, one that Mitchell caught immediately. Then, without hesitation, Mitchell took a point from Maksum. A bold, daring move in the current landscape of MMA officiating and one that was completely within Mitchell’s rights to do. Raposo went on to win a decision, and Maksum, who also missed weight by three pounds by the way, was sent to the fringes of the flyweight rankings. Justice.
In the very next fight, referee Marc Goddard immediately dinged Hamdy Abdelwahab for elbowing Chris Barnett in the back of the head, and it felt like a legitimate sea change. You got the sense that every other fighter was on their best behavior for the rest of the night. Well, with maybe one little exception.
Heck: Valter Walker.
Look, it was a pretty safe bet that Walker would get a quick submission win over newcomer Louie Sutherland, but to get his fourth consecutive heel hook stoppage is absolutely incredible. Plus, for the most part, he did the job on the microphone and got people talking, although I thought he could’ve shot a bit higher with the callout.
The Hamdy callout was perfectly timed, especially if you watched his post-fight scrum as he reacted to Walker’s callout in real time. However, Walker vs. Derrick Lewis has the potential to be at the peak of silly goose fights in the division, and I’m super here for it.
Martin: Is it fair to just say the officials in general?
As my esteemed colleague noted, Rich Mitchell should become the next great import to come to the United States and start refereeing fights, and we’ll send Dan Miragliotta out to pasture because he’s just abysmal lately. Mitchell was vocal and decisive as a referee, and he actually penalized somebody for committing a foul! What a crazy idea!
The same goes for Marc Goddard immediately taking a point for Hamdy Abdelwahab after he elbowed Chris Barnett in the back of the head.
And then we have to give some flowers to Tony Weeks and Clemens Werner for scoring Alexander Volkov over Mr. Anti-Offense himself, Jailton Almeida. While Mike Bell might need a refresher in the scoring criteria where damage always counts the most, Weeks and Werner both made the right call to give Volkov the win because, as lackluster as that fight may have been, Almeida scoring numerous takedowns and then DOING NOTHING shouldn’t count for much.
So as much grief as referees and judges get — and rightfully so much of the time — the officials working at UFC 321 deserve a standing ovation.
Meshew: Spiritually, I agree with AK, but the only reasonable answer is Quillan Salkilld. His head kick knockout of Nasrat Haqparast is sure to be on the shortlist for KO of the Year, and it’s one of the very few times in recent memory I’ve been genuinely concerned for the health of a fighter. Haqparast was on the canvas so long that Daniel Cormier, who was in the cage to interview Salkilld, couldn’t hide his own concern. Other than the two title fights, this was easily the most memorable part of UFC 321. Just look at it!
5. Who was the biggest loser at UFC 321?
Lee: Besides Maksum, it’s my boy Jailton Almeida.
I’ve been pushing the “Almeida should get a title shot someday” angle for some time now, because I love a big guy who has a specialized skill set that he can utilize effectively. Almeida’s grappling is magic, and it’s produced exciting results more often than not. But it’s when the “not” happens that things get uuuuuuuugly.
Almeida lost a split decision to Alexander Volkov on Saturday, and even though I scored the fight for Almeida, no one should have any issue with how two of the judges saw it. Simply put, Almeida did almost nothing when he achieved a dominant position, refusing to utilize ground-and-pound in favor of advancing position in the hopes of a submission. He did the same thing against Derrick Lewis in an even more forgettable performance, and Volkov put up a much better fight than Lewis.
Even if Almeida had won, it’s unlikely Dana White would be blowing up his team to get them to sign on the dotted line for a championship fight. Almeida has never been farther from that opportunity now, and a drop back down to light heavyweight might be his best option.
Heck: There are more obvious answers, but Mario Bautista is my choice.
I know that may sound a bit unfair because Bautista impressed me A LOT, fought admirably, and he gave Umar Nurmagomedov a much tougher test than most thought he would. Even though Bautista out-kicked his coverage in a lot of ways, this was his chance to get to a UFC title fight, and unfortunately, that is likely no longer going to be put on his table. Of course, anything can happen, but putting together another long winning streak (which he’ll absolutely need) with the depth of the bantamweight division is going to be extremely difficult.
Bautista is going to be a tough out for almost everybody he fights, but as we all know, star power and fan interest gets rewarded more than merit in the UFC, and while Bautista showed he is a very good fighter, he simply doesn’t have that caché. The MMA Lab standout likely stays as a perennial top-10 bantamweight for as long as he competes, but that isn’t going to translate to a title fight any time soon.
Martin: Like it or not, it’s Tom Aspinall.
As previously mentioned, Aspinall is somehow facing criticism for not continuing to fight after he got fouled by an illegal eye poke. It’s remarkably dumb, but that’s where we are.
Add to that, Aspinall is now destined for a rematch against Gane sometime in 2026, which means there’s now almost zero chance he’ll ever get to face Jon Jones. Yes, that fight was always highly unlikely to happen, but now Aspinall can’t even call for it because he has to run it back with Gane.
Also, Aspinall was likely dropping that first round, and he actually looked kind of human for the first time in the UFC. That’s not a bad thing, but Aspinall was riding high, and he got knocked back to Earth after looking superhuman thus far in his UFC career.
Considering the dreadful state of the heavyweight division right now, Aspinall shredding opponents like every team in the NFL does to the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense was its saving grace. Now that mystique has been shattered, at least a little bit. Also, is Aspinall going to boxing after a few more fights? Yeah, that ain’t happening either.
Meshew: There were a lot of big losers on Saturday, but for as much as I’d like to talk about Chris Barnett, Aleksandar Rakic, and Virna Jandiroba, none of them were the biggest losers on Saturday. On a day when Barnett literally showed his ass, a sizable chunk of the MMA fanbase did much worse metaphorically, calling Tom Aspinall everything but his government name after the unfortunate end to the evening.
Professional fighters want to fight. If you’ve ever talked to any of them, they all have an almost psychotic belief in themselves to win any fight. And Aspinall, as heavyweight champion, has more reason than most to believe that. So the idea that this man “quit” because he was arguably losing the first round of a title fight is among the most asinine takes expressed this year. Tom Aspinall was egregiously poked in the eye and could not see. The argument that he should have “toughed it out” is remarkably stupid, and everyone espousing it should maybe step outside and touch some grass.
