What is the story about?
Check out this week's "Spinning Back Clique," MMA Junkie's weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week's panel of Farah Hannoun, Dan Tom and Nolan King will join host Danny Segura live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:
- The rumors came true Monday when Tom Aspinall, nearing a year without fighting since getting eye-poked by Cyril Gane in their controversial title fight that ended in a no contest, vacated his UFC heavyweight title. We analyze Aspinall's tricky career position, and how that impacts the rest of the division.
- The fourth installment of Noche UFC is in the books. In the main event, Jean Silva submitted Jose Delgado to defend his spot on the rankings. The card also saw Tommy McMillen steal the show in a thrilling win vs. Marwan Rahiki, and Mexican stars Alexa Grasso and Brandon Moreno pick up much-needed wins. We react to the standout performances at Noche UFC.
- Ryan Garcia put away Conor Benn with ease in arguably the biggest fight in Zuffa Boxing's short history. How is Dana White doing as a boxing promoter? Who should Garcia face next? Where does Benn go from here after this bad loss? We discuss.
- Speaking of stripping champions from the belts, this past week the UFC announced that Valentina Shevchenko suffered an injury, thus stepping aside as champion of the women's flyweight division. In her absence, Natalia Silva and Wang Cong will be fighting for the vacant title in the main event of UFC 332 – a card that's been under heavy criticism from MMA fans.
- Lastly, we close out the show by looking ahead at UFC 331. This Saturday, Alexandre Pantoja returns from injury in hopes of getting back his UFC flyweight title from Joshua Van. The two last fought in December when Pantoja injured his arm seconds into the fight. UFC 331 also features the return of Arman Tsarukyan, who's long been the No. 1 contender at lightweight. He takes on Mauricio Ruffy. We break down the storylines surrounding the main fights of the card, and we share our predictions.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Spinning Back Clique: Tom Aspinall vacates title, UFC 331, Noche UFC, more
