Tom Aspinall Will Defend the UFC Heavyweight Title Against Ciryl Gane
The undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, will defend his title for the first time against Ciryl Gane on October 25th. This was announced by UFC CEO Dana White on Tuesday.
This highly anticipated heavyweight championship fight will be the main event of UFC 321, which will take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Aspinall (15-3) ascended to undisputed champion last month, following the decision of the previous champion, Jon Jones, to retire instead of facing him.
Aspinall won the interim title in November 2023 and even made an interim title defense last July, while waiting for Jones to agree to fight him. Jones announced his retirement last month, but immediately suggested that he plans to return in 2026.
Aspinall, originally from England, has an 8-1 record in the UFC, with seven first-round finishes. His only loss was against Curtis Blaydes in 2022, when he suffered a knee injury 15 seconds into the fight.
Gane (13-2), from France, is a former interim champion. He won the interim title over Derrick Lewis in 2021, but failed to unify the title against then-champion Francis Ngannou in 2022.
