Latest news with #UFC321
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cyril Gane's coach says Tom Aspinall has "more pressure on him than any other fighter in the last decade"
After years of orbiting each other in the UFC heavyweight rankings, Ciryl Gane and Tom Aspinall will finally meet at UFC 321 on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi. The fight will be the first official undisputed heavyweight title defense for the champion Aspinall after his promotion from interim status in the wake of Jon Jones' retirement earlier this year. Long before that, however, he and Gane seemed destined to collide, with occasional finger-pointing over reasons why it's yet to come to fruition. Gane's coach Fernand Lopez has been somewhat frustrated by the saga over the years, and ultimately sees Aspinall with all the pressure — despite Gane's previous title bids coming up short. "The part of the whining where he's talking about people avoiding him — do you really think in this division when you get in the top 10, and when you get to the third, the second one, the champ, you really think that people are making the choices guided by fear?" Lopez said on Tuesday's edition of Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show." "That makes no sense. Do you really think that anyone in the fight game, in the top 10, would be scared? "You can name whoever you want. Derrick Lewis, one of the best knockout artists in the division. Jairzinho [Rozenstruik], Francis Ngannou, everyone. It's not about being scared of someone. It's about making choices. I choose to fight with you, or I don't choose to fight with you, and we will call you a coward, or someone who ducked a fight when the UFC gives you a major proposition, and you say no. Not because anyone calls you out. This is the part that annoys me. "Him saying that he will retire Cyril Gane, or he will erase him from the title run, makes sense for me. This is fair enough. It's OK. It's hard to build the fight in total to clash a little bit. But just keep this in mind: Tom Aspinall has more pressure on him than any other fighter has experienced in the last decade. Can you imagine what will happen if Tom Aspinall does not deliver on October 25? That will be beyond an embarrassment. This is a lot of pressure that you don't want to take on your shoulders." Gane and Aspinall have gone in separate directions of sorts since the divisional landscape dramatically shifted with Ngannou's departure in 2022. While Aspinall was on the mend from his torn ACL against Curtis Blaydes, Gane went on to face Jones for the vacant title, succumbing to a first-round guillotine choke. Aspinall ultimately returned to score two wins, earning him the interim heavyweight title before he defended the strap in his rematch with Blaydes this time last year. Meanwhile, Gane returned to title contention with a two-fight winning streak that included victories over Serghei Spivac and Alexander Volkov. Having watched the saga not only between Gane and Aspinall over the years, but Aspinall and Jones, Lopez has found it all more aggravating than exciting. "It's kind of annoying, whining around saying that ... Ciryl ducked him and this and that," Lopez said. "Everyone ducked him, he's walking around like we're a duck. It's kind of annoying because generally, the few times we met with Tom, the family, everything was so respectful and smooth. Even in Paris, the guy decided to fly from London by himself. "He decided on his own to fly to Paris and challenge Ciryl. I'm there, and then no one at the UFC asked us if we want Tom to get in the cage. No one. Everything was smooth. Then you have someone cageside, who says to you, 'Well, I want to fight you. Can you call me out?' Why should [Gane] do that? So Ciryl didn't call him out. Obviously, he's looking forward and he started to think about how to make better on his career, so he was looking forward to trying to fight Jon Jones. Because at that time, I think that Tom was fifth in the rankings, or something like that. "That very night, when Tom was saying that, he was kind of frustrated because he didn't have Ciryl calling him out. At the same night, you can see them with [Michael] Bisping, with Ciryl hanging around at the afterparty. Everything was very friendly, so I don't know if it's frustration or what he's doing, but I find that very annoying. I can understand what Jon Jones is saying. That sounds annoying to come back and try to tease people. The fight is happening, so let's just come down and have this fight." Gane and Lopez had their eyes on Aspinall long before they started to prep for a potential matchup, dating back to when Aspinall took on their team member Alan Baudot in 2020. Despite any frustrations toward Aspinall and the bizarre nature of how the division has unfolded, Lopez understands the talent Aspinall possesses — even if he believes it may be somewhat overblown. "Tom is a good fighter. Don't get me wrong," Lopez said. "He's one of the best, but I just want to let you know that people tend to overreact and overrate someone very quickly. Let's really check. You guys are telling us that this guy was doing BJJ a very long time, when he was a teenager. ... Did he win any ADCC? What happened? "So, I think that we need to be a little bit careful with what we are saying. ... What I just know is that if we are taking this fight, we are pretty sure that Ciryl can make this out. It's a hard fight, but I think Ciryl has what it takes."
USA Today
6 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC 321 adds three bouts including fan-favorite heavyweight
A post shared by UFC (@ufc) One of the most popular heavyweights among UFC diehards is back. Chris Barnett will return Oct. 25 at UFC 321 vs. Hamdy Abdelwahab, the promotion recently announced. The event takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It'll be one day shy of exactly one year between fights for Barnett (23-9 MMA, 2-3 UFC) when he steps in the cage. He returns to the venue where he suffered a knee injury and TKO loss during his most recent bout vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu. The loss was his second in three fights, though Barnett has alternated losses and wins since his promotional debut in May 2021. Abdelwahab (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) returned in February from a suspension triggered by a failed drug test due to a tainted supplement. He defeated Jamal Pogues by split decision before a June loss to Mohammed Usman by unanimous decision. Other new additions to the card include rising middleweights Ikram Aliskerov (16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Jun Yong Park (19-6 MMA, 9-3 UFC), as well as a flyweight battle between Azat Maksum (15-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Mitch Raposo (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC), which was first reported by Eurosport NL. With the addition, the UFC 321 lineup includes:
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rory MacDonald, Jailton Almeida, Fernand Lopez, Shadasia Green and more
Ariel Helwani and the Boys In The Back go live on Uncrowned and YouTube at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/6 p.m. UK time for Tuesday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show." Catch the full rundown below. 1 p.m. ET: Ariel and the gang kick off the show. 1:35 p.m. ET: New WBO super middleweight champion Shadasia Green makes her debut on the show. 2 p.m. ET: Jailton Almeida previews his UFC 321 showdown against Alexander Volkov. 2:30 p.m. ET: Old friend Rory MacDonald stops by to check in. 3 p.m. ET: Ciryl Gane's coach Fernand Lopez looks ahead to their Tom Aspinall showdown. Catch all new episodes of "The Ariel Helwani Show" live every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Uncrowned and The Ariel Helwani Show's YouTube page. To listen to every episode, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC 321 Main Event: Tom Aspinall Vs. Ciryl Gane Opening Betting Odds
Tom Aspinall becomes heavyweight champion after beating Curtis Blaydes during the Heavyweight bout ... More at the Co-op Live Arena, Manchester. Picture date: Sunday July 28, 2024. (Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images) UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall gets his first official title defense on October 25 when he faces former interim champ Ciryl Gane in the main event of the UFC 321 pay-per-view fight card from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. We look at the opening betting odds for Aspinall vs. Gane UFC 321 Fight Card Main Event: Tom Aspinall Vs. Ciryl Gane Opening Betting Odds And Line Movement Not long after UFC CEO Dana White announced the UFC 321 main event, BetOnline came out with betting lines for the fight. Aspinall opened as the -350 betting favorite over Gane, who opened as the +285 betting underdog. Less than 24 hours since White announced the matchup, Aspinall has moved to -400, while Gane is now +300. UFC 321 Fight Card Main Event: Tom Aspinall Vs. Ciryl Gane MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Tom Aspinall of England reacts after his knockout victory against ... More Curtis Blaydes in the interim UFC heavyweight championship bout during the UFC 304 event at Co-op Live on July 27, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Tom Aspinall (15-3) had a 7-2 professional MMA record when the UFC inked him to a deal in 2020. Aspinall made his promotional debut in July 2020 with a 45-second knockout win over Jake Collier. The win earned the then 27-year-old his first 'Performance of the Night' bonus. A knockout win over Alan Baudot followed in October of that year. Aspinall made it three stoppages in a row in February 2021 when he tapped Andrei Arlovski in the second round of their matchup, a card that was headlined by Curtis Blaydes losing to Derrick Lewis by second-round KO. Aspinall's win over Arlovski broke him into the rankings at No. 13. First-round stoppage wins over Serghei Spivac (TKO) and Alexander Volkov (submission) followed the Arlovski triumph. The Blaydes matchup was next on Aspinall's schedule. The injury he suffered in that contest kept him out of action until July 2023 when he stepped into the Octagon to face Marcin Tybura. Aspinall showed no hesitation or ill effects from his knee injury, as he dispatched Tybura in 73 seconds, winning the fight by TKO. Then, with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones injured and out of his scheduled UFC 295 matchup against Stipe Miocic, the UFC tapped Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich to face off for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295. Aspinall won the bout, and the title, with a 69-second knockout. Aspinall defended the interim crown once, defeating Curtis Blaydes via knockout at the 1:00 mark of Round 1 of their UFC 304 matchup. Now 32, Aspinall has seven first-round stoppage wins and one second-round stoppage victory under the UFC banner. He has never gone past 1:09 of the second round in UFC action. Aspinall has earned seven 'Performance of the Night' bonuses during his UFC run. The only win he has where he failed to pick up a post-fight bonus was his win over Baudot in 2020. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Ciryl Gane of France looks on before a heavyweight bout against ... More Alexander Volkov of Russia during the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Ciryl Gane (13-2) is the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. The 35-year-old French competitor has only lost in UFC title fights, falling to Francis Ngannou by decision in 2022 for the undisputed title, and losing to Jon Jones via submission in 2023 for the vacant belt. Gane did capture the interim heavyweight belt in 2021 with a knockout of Derrick Lewis. Gane debuted with the UFC in 2019 following a Muay Thai career. He was 3-0 in MMA when he first fought inside the Octagon. Gane went 7-0 to begin his UFC career. His first loss came in a title unification bout against Ngannou. Gane enters UFC 321 on a two-fight winning streak. He defeated Serghei Spivac by TKO in September 2023. In his most recent trip to the Octagon, Gane bested Alexander Volkov via decision at UFC 310. Tom Aspinall Named UFC Heavyweight Champ LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 08: UFC CEO Dana White holds a press conference after the UFC 313 event at ... More T-Mobile Arena on March 08, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) In June, then-UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones retired. The UFC named Aspinall the undisputed champion at that time. "Jon Jones called us last night and retired. Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC," White said during the post-fight press conference following the UFC Baku fight card. "I obviously feel bad for Tom that he lost all that time and money, but we'll make it up to him," White added. "Tom Aspinall is a good guy. He's been incredible through this whole process that we've gone through. He's been willing to do anything – fight him anywhere at any time and do this. Now he's like, 'I'll fight anybody. Tell me who and I'll fight him.' Aspinall has been great. He's going to be a great heavyweight champion for us and I'm excited to work with him." "International Fight Week starts Monday in Las Vegas," White continued. 'Tom will be in Vegas all week with us, so we'll get together with him and figure out what's next.' Tom Aspinall Was The Longest Serving UFC Interim Champion LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 13: UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall attends the UFC 300 ... More event at T-Mobile Arena on April 13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight crown in November 2023 with a knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Aspinall took that fight on short notice when the original main event for that card, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for Jones's heavyweight title was scrapped following an injury to Jones. Despite Aspinall winning the interim crown, UFC CEO Dana White remained steadfast in saying that Jones vs. Miocic was the fight to make. That fight did not take place until November 2024. Jones held on to his belt that night, beating Miocic by TKO in the third round. By that time, Aspinall had already defended his interim crown, scoring a first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024. Aspinall, who has not fought since he defeated Blaydes, had been waiting for the title unification bout with Jones since Jones's win over Miocic in November. In late April, Aspinall became the longest-serving UFC interim champion, topping the 535-day reign of Renan Barao, who defended his interim title twice before being named undisputed champion. UFC 321 Official Fights Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane: For Aspinall's UFC heavyweight title Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida: Heavyweight Aleksander Rakic vs. Azamat Murzakanov: Light Heavyweight Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Chris Barnett: Heavyweight Ikram Aliskerov vs. Junyong Park: Middleweight Azat Maksum vs. Mitch Raposo We will have more on UFC 321, including opening betting odds for the co-main event when that fight is made official.
Al Etihad
5 days ago
- Sport
- Al Etihad
It's Aspinally vs Gane finally for 'huge card' at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi
24 July 2025 22:02 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)Tom Aspinall will make his first undisputed heavyweight title defence against France's Ciryl Gane in the headline bout of UFC 321, set to take place on October 25 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.'This is what I've worked for my entire life. To fight someone like Ciryl Gane, to be the undisputed champion, to defend my belt on a huge card in Abu Dhabi,' Aspinall told MMA Fighting after the announcement. According to Aspinall, this is a fight destined and finally happening after four rounds of stalling. The Manchester-born champion (15-3) returns to the Octagon riding a wave of momentum, which started when Gane avoided him at the start.'Me and Ciryl Gane finally signed on the dotted line. This is the fourth time we've been matched up together. He turned me down for a fight early on, before we were in the rankings,' Aspinall reminded that after he had called out the winner of Gane vs. Serghei Spivac in 2023, but 'Ciryl turned down the fight on a second occasion'.Aspinall claimed the interim title with a knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in November 2023, followed by a dominant defence against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024. A unification bout with Jon Jones appeared inevitable, but the long-reigning champion chose to face Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, and then retired, prompting the UFC to elevate Aspinall to undisputed champion out of Paris, the former interim titleholder Gane (13-2) is revered for his movement, timing and high-level striking. With victories over Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa, and Volkov on his résumé, the Frenchman now eyes a second shot at undisputed gold – and redemption – in his first bout for the 321, in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), underscores the emirate's growing status as an elite MMA destination. Previous events hosted in the city include Khabib Nurmagomedov's triumphant UFC 242 title defence and last year's memorable clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway at UFC 308. Tickets for UFC 321 will go on sale at 1pm local time on Friday via the website. Premium VIP Experience packages will also be available through UFC's official VIP partner, On Location, offering behind-the-scenes access, hospitality, and fighter meet-and-greets. Additional bouts on the card include: ● Aleksandar Rakic (14-5, fighting out of Vienna, Austria) will take on undefeated Azamat Murzakanov (15-0, fighting out of New Jersey, USA) in a light heavyweight matchup.● Two heavyweight contenders face off as Alexander Volkov (38-11, fighting out of Moscow, Russia) takes on Jailton Almeida (22-3, fighting out of Salvador, Brazil).● Azat Maksum (15-2, fighting out of Kaskelen, Kazakhstan) faces Mitch Raposo (9-3, fighting out of Massachusetts, USA), who looks to get back in the win column, in a flyweight fight.● Ikram Aliskerov (16-2, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia) takes on vs JunYong Park (19-6, fighting out of Seoul, South Korea) in what promises to be a thrilling middleweight fight.● Hamdy Abdelwahab (4-1, fighting out of New York, USA, by way of Egypt) faces off against Chris Barnett (23-9, fighting out of Florida, USA) in a heavyweight bout.
