The Road to UFC 321: How Both Fighters Earned Their Title Shot

While you could argue that UFCs heavyweight division has become stale, it still gets the fans going the most. This October, MMA fans will be able to rejoice as the heavyweight titles are once again on the line. The fight between the two top contenders promises to be an epic showdown. One could argue that no one can stand up to Tom Aspinall at this moment, but that will not stop contenders such as Cyril Gane coming for his belt.

At UFC 321, both fighters will have to prove their worth once again, as in the world of MMA nothing is given. With less than 10 days to go until UFC 321 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, both fighters are more than prepared to give their best. For all of the fans of UFC, the 25th October heavyweight title fight is an event they cannot miss. While the main card will have interesting bouts such as Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista, Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida, Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern, and Aleksandar Rakić vs. Azamat Murzakanov, all eyes will undoubtedly be on Aspinall vs. Gane. So, let’s see what brought these two into the title conversation in the first place.

Tom Aspinall

By UFC standards Tom Aspinall is a young fighter. He only has 9 bouts to his name with the company. In those 9 fights he has recorded 8 wins and only one defeat. So far, in his professional MMA career, Tom stands at 15-3. What makes Aspinall so fearsome is the fact that he wraps up all of his opponents early on via stoppage. During his dominant stint in the UFC only one of his opponents has managed to last past the first round. During 2023, Tom Aspinall has secured the interim championship belt, with the undisputed title coming shortly after. Tom has been inactive for a good while, while he was waiting for Jon Jones to accept his title challenge. Jones eventually decided to retire, and Tom has become the undisputed champion. While it would be a wet dream for most MMA fans to see Aspinall vs. Jones fight, it made little sense for Jon to accept that fight at this stage of his career, and opted out to retire instead.

The only defeat during his UFC stint Aspinall received from Curtis Blaydes, but it was a surrender due to a knee injury. The last time the two men met, Tom was quick to wrap up Blaydes via TKO, showing his dominance over the heavyweight division. Other names on his record include the likes of Jake Collier, Alan Baudot, Andrei Arlovski, Serghei Spivac, Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura, and Serghei Pavlovich. According to expert picks and predictions for UFC 321, Aspinall remains the heavy favorite with his odds being set at 1.25.

Cyril Gane

By any fighting standard, Cyril Gane is a monster MMA fighter. He has the build, he has the skills, and yet he cannot climb the top of the mountain. One could argue that he is unlucky to have his prime coincided with Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. Gane’s record speaks for itself. He has a 12:2 MMA record. Both of his defeats have come during title fights. When you know that he has lost only against Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou, you start respecting him a tad bit more. So far in his career he has managed to take down the likes of Raphael Pessoa, Don’Tale Mayes, Tanner Boser, Junior Dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Volkov, Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa, Serghei Spivac, and Alexander Volkov once again.

After losing the title bout in the hands of Jon Jones at the UFC 285, Gane has come around with two wins against Spivac and Volkov, with one being a KO/TKP win while a split decision vs. Volkov was not as impressive. Yet, it was enough to put Gane back into title contention, considering the state of the heavyweight division and the fact that the champion, Tom Aspinall was inactive for far too long. If you plan to bet on UFC 321, remember that Cyril Gane is a heavy underdog with his odds being set at 4.00.

Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane Picks & Predictions

There are levels to every MMA bout. Despite the fact that everyone sees Tom Aspinall as a clear favorite, Cyril Gane is not without chances to win. Yet, those chances are slim. At the end of the day, the dominance with which Tim Aspinall cleared the division on his route to the title has been nothing short of impressive. When you know that Tom has seven first round finishes to his name you need to have him in awe. It’s been a while since the UFC had a dominant champion. The British fighter has some of the best striking ability in the world of MMA. That’s why he was able to KO all three of his last opponents. Not only that he knows how to land a strike, he also can take a beating as we saw when he swallowed a left hook during his bout vs. Pavlovich, stood his ground, and continued to knock down his opponent. The composure of Tom Aspinall and octagon intelligence are on another level.

As if that is not enough, he is also a master of fighting on the ground. When he couldn’t take his opponent by striking, he took the fight to the ground which resulted in his only two submission wins. The biggest danger from Tom Aspinall comes not from his size and strength, but the fact that in addition to those, he is also a well rounded fighter who has honed his craft over the years, never relying only on his natural abilities. Knowing all of this will lead you to not be surprised by the odds Stake.com and other sports betting outlets are giving on Aspinall vs. Gane fight. Tom is a clear favorite, and despite qualities Gane brings to the table, no one should be surprised if we witness another first round stoppage by Tom at UFC 321.

Cyril Gane, on the other hand, has little to lose here, and plenty to gain. He’s been on the losing side of title bouts two times already, but that is what it takes to remain in contention. You fight, you win a lot, you lose once, and you do it all over again. With a background in Muay Thai, Gane has quickly profiled himself as one of the top strikers in the division. He has been proving his worth to fight in and fight out, only stopping at the last step. While there is no shame in losing to the likes of Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones, with a third title fight defeat to Tom Aspinall this time around, the MMA fans would be quick to depict Gane as an all time loser. Being one of the top heavyweight contenders for years has its perks, but not being able to secure the belt is a massive stain on Gane’s career so far.

Also, plenty of UFC fans believe that Gane hasn’t been active enough to deserve another shot at the title. Yet, with the current state of the UFC heavyweight division we beg to differ. There are not too many other fighters on a hot streak that could face Tom Aspinall, and claim that their title challenge was more merited than Gane’s. Despite standing on the brink of winning the UFC heavyweight title, the chances are slim that Cyril will be able to pull that feat off. The main reason why we see this fight going Tom’s way is the fact that Gane historically struggles against fighters who can take him down. Considering that Aspinall falls into that category, if we’re not witnessing a first round KO/TKO, we might be in for the third Aspinall UFC heavyweight win via submission.

How to Bet on UFC 321?

As we said, UFC 321 is much more than just Aspinall vs. Gane. Both the preliminary and the main card are filled with interesting encounters. The action will be top notch both in the octagon as well on the betting markets. If you plan to wager a little bit on the upcoming UFC event and any other as far as MMA goes, here’s the best way to do it:

1. The first step is always to find a reliable sports betting partner, and Stake fits tat description. With the top MMA betting markets they provide you don’t have to think twice about opening an account. Once you’ve got an account, log in and make a deposit. That’s what you need to start your betting adventure.
2. Once you have funds allocated to your account, it is the right moment to start searching for the available betting markets. Navigate the website towards the MMA, and then UFC sections, and see what fights are scheduled.
3. You should never wager before you learn a thing or two about the sports, event, and participants. That’s why it is important to read about the events, check out the analysis, and seek expert picks and predictions. Top sports betting outlets such as Stake have all of these available on their website.
4. Lastly, pick the fights you want to wager on, add them to your slip, place a bet, and wait for the event to kick off.

If you are new to the world of MMA betting, it would be wise to learn about all the wagers you can place. Below we’re going to cover the most frequent ones, which include:

• Match winner: Here is the most classic moneyline bet. Considering just how draws are rare in the world of MMA, bettors usually decide to back the fighter. Betting on the match winner is the most common MMA wager.
• Asian Totals: With Asian Totals things get interesting in the world of MMA. The betting markets for over/under are quite diverse when it comes to combat sports. You can wager on many different aspects of the fight. There are bets on over/under on the number of rounds, takedowns, overall strikes, kicks, punches, minutes in ground and pound position, and everything in between.
• Winning Methods: If you’re a big fan of MMA, you ought to know all the ways in which one match can end. Through the winning method bet you can put your expertise to work. Whether it will be a win by KO/TKO, submission, split decision, or unanimous decision are all separate bets. Guessing the winning method gives better odds than simply guessing the match winner.
• Winner and exact rounds: The heavyweight title bout at UFC 321 is a perfect example of winner and exact round bet. We can already tell that the majority of fans will wager on Tom Aspinall winning by KO/TKO in the first round. You need to check out the odds on that wager.
• Will the fight go the distance: You will not be placing this bet on any Tom Aspinall fight we guarantee you that. Placing a yes bet on this market means that you trust that the fighters will spend 5 rounds in the octagon and that the judges will decide the winner. It also excludes the match ending in knockout, technical knockout, submission, or disqualification.
• Parlays: When you have a big event such as UFC 321 ahead of you making a parlay is a must. Parlays are when you combine more fights or fight outcomes on one slip. A good example is combining Tom winning via KO/TKO in the first round, match winner on Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista on Umar, and Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern going the distance. This combo provides good odds, and even with a small bet you can win a lot. Yet, it is hard to hit on two, three, and more predictions on one slip.

With everything said above, we have you more than prepared for anything that could come your way at the UFC 321.