Aspinall's 1st undisputed title defense comes vs. Gane at UFC 321

Tom Aspinall will defend the undisputed heavyweight championship for the first time against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi, UFC CEO Dana White announced Tuesday.

Aspinall was recently promoted from interim heavyweight champion after Jon Jones retired and relinquished his belt. His fight versus Gane will serve as the main event.

Aspinall has been out of action since defending the interim belt against Curtis Blaydes last summer. He finished Blaydes in the first round, giving the Englishman three consecutive victories within the first 90 seconds of a bout.

Gane is coming off a controversial win over Alexander Volkov in December 2024. He won by split decision, but many observers - including White - believed Volkov should've been awarded the victory.

Gane will fight for the undisputed title for the third time in six fights. He lost to Francis Ngannou as the interim champion in January 2022, and lost to Jones when the title was vacant in March 2023.

The UFC tried for months to book a title unification bout between Aspinall and Jones, but the latter retired instead. White said that Jones agreed to face Aspinall before changing his mind and ending his career.