UFC 321 went down yesterday (Sat., Oct. 25, 2025) from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates which saw the Heavyweight main event title fight end in anti-climactic fashion after Ciryl
Gane inadvertently poked Tom Aspinall in the eye, leaving him unable to continue (see it again here ). In the co-main event, Mackenzie Dern defeated Virna Jandiroba a second time to become the new women’s Strawweight champion of the word.
Biggest Winner: Mackenzie Dern
Seven years after making her UFC debut, Dern finally fulfilled her championship dreams by winning the vacant 115-pound title left behind Zhang Weili. It was a tough back-and-forth scrap, but Dern proved to be a bit more impactful with her performance according to the judges. After 16 fights inside the Octagon that saw her go 11-5, Dern fulfilled the expectations many had of her early on in her career. It may have taken a bit longer than she would’ve liked, but she is now sitting at the top of the women’s Strawweight division, which means she is well on her way to superstar status.
Runner Up: Umar Nurmagomedov
Nurmagomedov bounced back nicely following his loss to current UFC Bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, at the beginning of the year by securing a dominant one-sided win over Mario Bautista. And he did it thanks to his world-class grappling which saw him score 11 takedowns over the course of 15 minutes. Bautista simply had no answer for his wrestling, and he couldn’t get much of his own offense going other than a massive knee to the face that nearly gave him the upset win. Now, Nurmagomedov has set himself up to potentially face the winner of the upcoming title fight between Dvalishvili and Petr Yan, who are set to collide at UFC 323 on Dec. 6, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Biggest Loser: Aleksandar Rakic
Let’s put aside Gane and Aspinall for a second after they both lost out in a big way in the sense that they didn’t get to settle their score, and let’s focus on someone else who lost big. After starting his UFC career with a record of 6-1, Rakic looked like he had all the makings of a legit title contender. But things went downhill in a hurry for “Rocket” following a devastating knee injury he suffered during his fight against Jan Blachowicz, which resulted in a technical knockout (TKO) defeat. After a two-year sit to get healthy, things only got worse for Rakic, as he went on to lose three in a row, which includes his first-round TKO defeat at the hands of Azamat Murzakanov yesterday (highlights). I don’t foresee the promotion cutting him based off his tough losing streak, but he will fall out of the Top 10, and those championship dreams he once had could have vanished for good.
For complete UFC 321 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
