Aspinall vs. Gane is a No Contest, Dern Title

Highlights

• UFC 321 main event ends in chaos as Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane is ruled a no contest after a double eye poke.
• Mackenzie Dern wins her first UFC championship, defeating Virna Jandiroba for the vacant strawweight title.
• UFC 321 delivers knockout finishes, bonus winners, and sets up intrigue for potential UFC 323 matchups.

Well, that’s not what anyone wanted to see in the UFC 321 main event. On Saturday in Abu Dhabi, the UFC heavyweight title fight between champion Tom Aspinall and Cyril Gane ends in a no contest due to accidental foul. Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes at the close of the first round and the champion was unable to continue.

To say people were disappointed is an understatement.

More than likely, this fight will need to run back ASAP. Gane was handling Aspinall rather easily in the first frame. He’d already caused the champion’s swollen eye and a bloody nose with his jab and well-placed straights.

Aspinall did not look good early in the fight. To some, it appeared he was looking for a way out. He was clearly upset during the post-fight interview and bothered by the crowd booing him.

Aspinall’s not exaggerating, this was a pretty nasty poke–and in both eyes.

Even still, some fighters still weren’t buying Aspinall’s description of the poke.

As it is, we will have to see how quickly this one can be rebooked. You have to wonder if there is space on the UFC 323 card. As it stands, there are 13 fights.

A 14-fight card is not unprecedented and it could also help an already strong lineup of fights be even more enticing on the final PPV card in the ESPN era. We’ll see.

Mackenzie Dern Wins Strawweight Championship

It was a long journey, but Mackenzie Dern achieved her goal of becoming a UFC champion. She outlasted Virna Jandiroba in a hard-fought battle in the UFC 321 main event to capture the previously vacant UFC women’s strawweight title. Dern prevailed via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47×2) to become the Weili Zhang had been the champ, but she moved up to flyweight to challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the 125-pound crown.

Dern shook off nine takedowns to control the striking against Jandiroba, and she also secured a pair of takedowns of her own to become the ninth champion in the division’s history and just the sixth different fighter to hold the crown.

She also became the first woman to win the IBJFF world, ADCC gold medal and UFC championship. The win puts her in rarified air as one of the few women (Kayla Harrison, Holly Holm) to win championships and medals at the top of multiple combat sports.

Here is a look at all of the results with highlights of each finish along with bonus winners recognized.

UFC 321 Main Card Results

UFC Heavyweight Championship Bout: Tom Aspinall (c) – Ciryl Gane (NO CONTEST)

UFC Strawweight Championship Bout: Mackenzie Dern def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47×2) – New UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion

Umar Nurmagomedov def. Mario Bautista unanimous decision (30-27×3)

Alexander Volkov def. Jailton Almeida via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)

BONUS WINNER – Azamat Murzakanov def. Aleksandar Rakic via first-round KO (Punch)

UFC 321 Prelims Results

BONUS WINNER – Quillan Salkilld def. Nasrat Haqparast via first-round KO (Head Kick)

Ikram Aliskerov def. Jun Yong Park via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Ludovit Klein def. Mateusz Rebecki via majority decision (29-28, 28-27, 28-28)

BONUS WINNER – Valter Walker def. Louie Sutherland via first-round submission (Heel Hook)

Nathaniel Wood def. Jose Miguel Delgado via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Chris Barnett via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27, 29-27)

Mitch Raposo def. Azat Maksum via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)

Mizuki Inoue def. Jaqueline Amorim via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)