With Jon Jones surrendering his title, the promotion will ask Tom Aspinall to defend the undisputed strap against No. 1-ranked title contender, Ciryl Gane, atop the upcoming UFC 321 pay-per-view (PPV) fight card on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi.
Gane attempted to capture the undisputed crown against Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 and then again opposite Jon Jones at UFC 285 but came up considerably short in both contests. Unfortunately, there aren’t a ton of options at 265 pounds.
“Finally we’re back after over a year hiatus,” Aspinall said on Instagram. “Me and Ciryl finally signed on the dotted line. This is the fourth time we’ve been matched up together for the 25th of October [in] Abu Dhabi. Me and Ciryl, the fourth attempt is here, and this is Ciryl’s third title shot. We are going to try and get rid of Ciryl Gane from the title picture for good.”
Aspinall and Gane were scheduled to throw down multiple times in the past, but “Bon Gamin” had other commitments. In addition, Gane never seemed that interested in fighting the British bruiser until he laid claim to the undisputed heavyweight title.
“Now it’s tiiime … let’s go get it,” Gane wrote on social media.
Fans in the comment section of Gane’s Instagram account were overwhelmingly critical of his opportunity, accusing “Bon Gamin” of getting a “title shot after a rigged win in his last fight,” referencing the Parisian’s controversial outcome against Alexander Volkov.
Jones, meanwhile, seems content to play Internet troll for the remainder of 2025.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
