- The odds for a probable rematch between heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane have moved significantly in Gane’s favor.
- Their UFC 321 match ended abruptly after Gane poked Aspinall in the eyes, and the champion couldn’t continue.
- UFC president Dana White says that he wants to book the rematch between Aspinall and Gane “as soon as possible”.
The UFC heavyweight title fight between champion Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 ended unceremoniously after eye pokes from Gane rendered Aspinall unable to continue.
The contender did well in the single round of that bout, and gamblers have reacted by backing Gane for a potential rematch. The second bout should be booked soon, if UFC president Dana White has anything to do with it.
Aspinall Was Favored Around -400 By Fight Night at UFC 321
Aspinall, now the undisputed heavyweight champion in the UFC after Jon Jones retired, was favored at -410, according to the UFC 321 odds, on Monday of fight week. By fight night (or fight afternoon, since the fight was on Saturday afternoon due to being in Abu Dhabi), Aspinall had settled around -400.
BetOnline has set the early odds for an Aspinall-Gane rematch, and Aspinall is now favored by -205, while Gane comes back at +175. Gane actually got off to a great start in the first round on Saturday as he used his Muay Thai striking to keep the champion at bay. He even bloodied Aspinall’s nose, to which the champion responded with a smile.
Aspinall had run through every competitor he faced, except for a knee injury he suffered in a July 2022 fight against Curtis Blaydes. The Englishman avenged that “loss” with a first-round knockout of Blaydes two years later.
Many were unhappy after the fight against Gane, including the Abu Dhabi crowd, various MMA figures, and, notably, Dana White. Some thought that Aspinall should have fought through the injury, even though he couldn’t see. Aspinall had some choice words for the crowd after the match.
White Laments Ending, Will Book Rematch “As Soon As Possible”
“I feel the way everybody feels. Great showing, sh*tty ending. I think that after the [Jon] Jones fight, a lot of people wrote Ciryl Gane off. He looked damn good tonight. It looked like we were in for a few rounds, and it was going to be a good fight.
White also said he would book the rematch between the two “as soon as possible”, basically, whenever Aspinall recovers from the eye injury. Neither man seemed to have any injuries coming into the fight. So, as soon as Aspinall figures out what is wrong with his eyes (he got poked in both eyes), White will likely book the rematch.
When will that be? No one knows the severity of the injury yet, so it’s difficult to say when it would be. As far as the numbered events go, UFC 323, headlined by bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili and former champion Petr Yan, is booked for December 6.
The UFC usually doesn’t have more than one numbered card per month. However, if Aspinall is ready to go, White could try to make something happen for late December.
We’ll have the latest news on that rematch when it is booked, as well as in-depth analysis and predictions!
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