Aspinall–Gane Ends in No Contest After Eye Poke at UFC 321

The event headlining UFC 321 on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi will be remembered for a stunning turn of events: the heavyweight title bout between champion Tom Aspinall and challenger Ciryl Gane was ruled a no-contest at 4:35 of Round 1 after an accidental eye‐poke left Aspinall unable to continue.

Aspinall, making his first defence of the undisputed heavyweight crown, met a sharp Gane in the early going. Gane landed crisp jabs and kicks, and forced the pace, while Aspinall pushed forward aggressively looking for the takedown. The swing moment came when Gane’s finger struck Aspinall in the right eye during an exchange; after the minute of allotted recovery time, the fight was waved off.

In the co-main event, strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern out-worked the returning Virna Jandiroba over five rounds to claim the vacant women’s strawweight title via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). Dern showed improved striking and took control of the action. Jandiroba fought hard but couldn’t match Dern’s output.

Elsewhere on the main card, rising bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov defeated Mario Bautista by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in what was billed as an eliminator-type matchup.  Heavyweight veteran Alexander Volkov edged out rising jumper Jailton Almeida by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).  And in light-heavyweight action, Azamat Murzakanov blasted Aleksandar Rakić in Round 1 with a knockout to spotlight himself on the big stage.

The end result leaves the heavyweight division in limbo. With no definitive winner in Aspinall-Gane, questions now swirl regarding the next steps for both men and the championship flavour of the division. By contrast, Dern’s victory ties a neat bow on the strawweight belt and provides clear direction in that weight class.