Tom Aspinall is lastly the undisputed heavyweight champion, and able to make the primary protection of his title.
For the previous two years, Aspinall has been caught up within the will-he-won’t-he-fight drama of Jon Jones, however now that Jones is retired (or, at the least, did), Aspinall is the undisputed champ, and it’s time to go in regards to the enterprise of being champion. First up on that docket is former interim champion Ciryl Gane, who Aspinall faces in the primary occasion of UFC 321 this weekend in Abu Dhabi.
This will probably be Aspinall’s second title protection (although first of his undisputed belt) and his first impression for the reason that Jones fiasco lastly ended. He clearly needs to win, however how essential is it for him to begin the brand new heavyweight period off proper?
MMA Preventing’s Alexander Ok. Lee, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew obtained collectively to debate simply that, plus the co-main occasion vacant title battle between Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern, and the remainder of UFC 321.
1. How a lot strain is on Tom Aspinall towards Ciryl Gane?
Martin: Reality be advised, the strain on Tom Aspinall is sort of immeasurable.
For the higher a part of the previous two years, Aspinall has broadly been thought of the perfect heavyweight within the sport and he gained an entire lot of backers as he continuously referred to as out Jon Jones in hopes of staging one of many greatest fights the UFC might probably promote. However in the end Jones vacated the belt to retire for all of two weeks and Aspinall was declared undisputed champion.
Now he’s dealing with the second finest man within the division in Ciryl Gane — the identical man who obtained dispatched by Jones inside three minutes and misplaced a call to Francis Ngannou on one leg. Gane is a stable sufficient fighter however he successfully already reached his ceiling in two previous title fights that didn’t go his manner. He’s getting this chance off a extremely controversial win over Alexander Volkov, which put him on a one-fight win streak to get this chance.
That ought to inform you how dreadful the heavyweight division is correct now however Aspinall at the least offers the UFC a marketable massive man who can stand on the truth that he’s nonetheless round and Jones is nowhere to be discovered. However to keep up his grip as the perfect on the earth, Aspinall can’t simply beat Gane. He has to obliterate him. Ideally, he has to beat Gane quicker than Jones did.
A win is a win in order that’s actually what issues however Aspinall dropping could be an unmitigated catastrophe for the UFC. So first he must win and second Aspinall must make it look straightforward as a result of assuming he will get by way of Gane, he doesn’t have something actually thrilling awaiting him in what has actually grow to be an abysmal division.
Meshew: I’m going the precise reverse of Damon: I feel Tom has virtually no strain on him this weekend.
Does Aspinall need to win? In fact! He’s the heavyweight champion and this can be a title protection. However does he want to win? Nah. Heavyweight is rubbish. Even when he drops the belt on Saturday, he’ll be preventing for it once more very quickly.
And as for the Jones stuff, I don’t assume that actually issues. The very fact is that Jones refused to battle Aspinall, not the opposite manner round. If Aspinall loses, certain, Jones will make some snide Tweets about “simply one other wannabe” or no matter, however that received’t change the details from the bottom. Jones might’ve fought Aspinall and selected to not. Aspinall tried his hardest to battle Jones for 2 years. He doesn’t look worse for dropping to some else.
Actually, I feel Gane has all of the strain on the earth on him. If he loses, that’s in all probability his title aspirations shot, and at heavyweight, there’s nowhere else to go. A loss on Saturday, particularly if it’s a nasty one, places Gane within the Wealthy Franklin zone for the remainder of his profession.
If there’s anybody who is aware of how essential it’s Aspinall maintain enterprise, it’s us right here at MMA Preventing. We saved Aspinall at No. 1 in our heavyweight rankings throughout the entire Jon Jones charade and whereas public sentiment broadly shifted in that route finally, it nonetheless seems like Aspinall has some work to do to persuade followers he’s not simply undisputed as a result of Jones ran away.
Add in the truth that Gane has the fame of an also-ran (sure, he’s a former interim champion, no he couldn’t beat Francis Ngannou or Jones when it mattered) and Aspinall slipping on a banana peel within the UFC 321 predominant occasion could be a catastrophe.
A catastrophe for him, a catastrophe for us, and, frankly, a catastrophe for the (satirically) flimsy heavyweight division.
2. Can Virna Jandiroba or Mackenzie Dern carry Zhang Weili’s mantle?
Martin: The quick reply? No.
It’s going to be awfully laborious for anyone to place this division on their again after Zhang Weili cemented her place as one of many best girls’s fighters of all time throughout a number of reigns atop this division. It should even be famous that Jandiroba is 37 and time is just not on her facet so this could possibly be her solely likelihood to grow to be champion, though strawweight isn’t precisely thriving lately so something is feasible.
As for Mackenzie Dern, she’s lastly getting her shot at a title after being hailed as the subsequent Ronda Rousey when she first got here to the UFC. Dern has remained a stalwart close to the highest of the rankings all through her profession however she’s come up quick in mainly each battle she’s had that would have put the multi-time grappling champion in place to compete for UFC gold. She’s additionally 2-2 in her previous 4 fights so it’s somewhat troublesome to get jazzed about her doubtlessly turning into champion.
Jandiroba has a greater report recently, though she’s fallen to Dern up to now, and choices in 4 out of 5 of her most up-to-date wins haven’t given her a lot hype both.
For Jandiroba or Dern to make individuals neglect about Zhang, the winner wants to attain a spotlight reel end or placed on an all-time basic battle after which go onto defend the belt a few occasions. Possibly then Zhang’s shadow received’t loom so giant however for now, these two are solely preventing for an opportunity to finally surpass the previous champion.
Meshew: I’m with Damon on this one, the winner of the co-main occasion on Saturday is the true champion, however they received’t really feel prefer it, probably ever.
You’re speaking to one of many few individuals who have by no means given up on Mackenzie Dern (I consider me and Shaheen Al-Shatti have been the final two individuals on Dern island), and even I can acknowledge that it doesn’t matter what occurs on Saturday, individuals are going to view her as a semi-paper champion. Even when she flying triangles Virna within the first 20 seconds, the chorus will probably be “properly, she wouldn’t have executed that to Zhang.” And that chorus is appropriate.
The problem with a champion vacating a weight class is that it at all times makes the division appear somewhat fraudulent. Mild heavyweight was misplaced within the forest after Jon Jones left, and solely obtained again on observe as soon as Alex Pereira took over. Welterweight felt equally unusual when Georges St-Pierre left. To make individuals neglect the previous champion, it’s a must to both a) be the uncrowned champion of the burden class beforehand like Tom Aspinall or Robert Whittaker, or b) put collectively an actual title reign. Neither Dern nor Jandiroba qualify for choice A, and I’d be fairly shocked if both pulled off choice B.
However truthfully, that’s nice. Strawweight has felt stagnant these previous few years anyway, with only a few title fights and quite a lot of the identical names. Now at the least one thing totally different is occurring, and that is likely to be sufficient to spark some curiosity.
Lee: I imply… no? They usually shouldn’t need to.
Whoever wins Saturday received’t even be thought of the perfect 115-pounder on the earth immediately, that’s simply the fact of the state of affairs. I’m undecided if individuals really feel the identical manner about Ilia Topuria, however there may be the sense that his undisputed champion at standing is being held for evaluation till Islam Makhachev confirms he’s by no means going again to 155 or if he will get the prospect to beat Makhachev. Truthful or not, these are the sacrifices that have to be made for us to get cool superfights like Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev and Shevchenko vs. Zhang.
Clearly, Dern is finest suited to be one of many faces of the promotion as she’s drawn eyeballs to her profession since her days gathering gold medals on the jiu-jitsu scene. She’s gotten each attainable push you will get from the UFC and if she will add MMA champion to her résumé, she may finally surpass Zhang in reputation, at the least in North America.
However matching Zhang’s excellence? Hey Virna and Mackenzie, simply have battle, OK?
3. What non-title battle are you most taken with?
Martin: Keep in mind that complete factor in regards to the heavyweight division being dreadful? Nicely Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida may legitimately be competing for the subsequent title shot and it doesn’t appear to be anyone is speaking about this battle.
Almeida has executed his finest to get Aspinall’s consideration however his grappling heavy type coupled with getting knocked out by Curtis Blaydes simply two fights in the past doesn’t precisely set the world on hearth. Volkov in all probability has a greater argument, particularly contemplating most consider he deserved the nod over Gane of their battle, however he additionally fell by submission in lower than 4 minutes when he fought Aspinall the final time round in 2022.
If both of these guys can pull off a very spectacular win — hopefully with a jaw-dropping knockout or a surprising submission — then both Volkov or Almeida could possibly be staring down Aspinall or Gane in 2026.
Meshew: Look, the characteristic bout is clearly the appropriate reply, and there’s a particular place in my coronary heart for Ludovit Klein vs. Mateusz Rebecki (which is gonna BANG), however I’ve to be me, and there are few issues that make me happier than weirdo MMA. And if that weirdo MMA might be at heavyweight? Woo, buddy, we’re cooking with gasoline!
The prelims on Saturday characteristic a horrendous matchup of two heavyweights who in all probability shouldn’t be on the UFC roster, however nonetheless supply their very own oddball advantages: Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Chris Barnett.
Abdelwahab is an Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler, who had his UFC debut win overturned to a No-Contest after testing optimistic for methenolone, solely to later get popped once more and get a two-year suspension! Someway the UFC didn’t lower him after that, and he’s fought twice this 12 months, going 1-1 in two of the worst fights you’ve ever seen. Now he’s on deck once more!
And everyone is aware of about Barnett. Huggy Bear is 5’9, weighs a lot, however is shockingly athletic for a person of his dimensions. He may get on the market and throw a leaping spinning wheel kick, and never look ridiculous doing it! Besides he’s nonetheless a heavyweight so he’ll gasoline after 4 minutes.
This battle goes to be impossibly silly, in all probability horrible, and enormously enjoyable for those who’re a specific type of sicko (mainly, an Iowa soccer recreation). I’m that type of sicko.
Calling Umar Nurmagomedov’s battle with Mario Bautista a do-or-die state of affairs sounds a bit foolish contemplating Nurmagomedov doesn’t even flip 30 till January. One might argue he isn’t close to his peak but and there are many alternatives for him to grow to be UFC champion sooner or later, whether or not it’s by beating Merab Dvalishvili in a rematch or just hanging round lengthy sufficient till Dvalishvili retires.
However Nurmagomedov had a lot hype heading into their UFC 311 conflict, that getting tripped up by Bautista might do immeasurable injury to his legacy. You possibly can name battle followers quite a lot of issues, however one factor they aren’t is forgetful in the case of somebody falling flat on their face.
Simply matchup-wise, Nurmagomedov vs. Bautista is fascinating. Bautista has made a behavior of constructing his opponents—how do I put this properly—appear like crap, which appears not possible given Nurmagomedov’s elite all-around talent set, however I might have mentioned the identical about Jose Aldo, Patchy Combine, and Ricky Simon. I don’t know the way Bautista does it. He simply neutralizes individuals.
The excellent news is regardless of who wins, they need to be vaulted proper to the entrance of the bantamweight contender line, which strikes shortly due to Dvalishvili’s ferocious battle schedule.
