UFC 321 produced yet another stacked card in the Etihad Arena out of the United Arab Emirates. The 13-fight card featured just three stoppages with only one of those stoppages occurring on the 5-fight main card. To add insult to injury, one of the two title fights on the card ended in a no contest. In the main event, UFC Heavyweight champion, Tom Apsinall, couldn’t continue, after suffering a gnarly eye poke in just the first round of his bout with Ciryl Gane. In the co-main event, Mackenzie Dern mounted a bit of a comeback as she beat out Virna Jandiroba to capture the vacant UFC strawweight title. Bunch of ranked fighters to matchup on this edition of losers, with all but one fighter having winning streaks halted.
Ciryl Gane
Ciryl Gane put on a solid performance in the four minutes leading up to the eye poke that triggered an eventual no contest result against Tom Aspinall on Saturday. Gane entered the fight riding a two-fight winning streak since first round stoppage loss to Jon Jones for the title back in March of 2023. Gane had stopped Sergehi Spivac and edged out Alexander Volkov with a unanimous decision since then.
Without a definitive ending and with the bout stopping so early on into the title fight, it’s obvious that this one needs to be ran back immediately. Aspinall retained the belt; Gane headed into this fight ranked at #1 in the division. UFC brass should just rebook this one for the main event of another PPV. Goal is likely: get this fight on a PPV card before the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Ciryl’s next fight: Tom Aspinall Rematch
Virna Jandiroba
Mackenzie Dern topped Virna Jandiroba in a hard fought five-round unanimous decision to capture the vacant UFC Strawweight title. Jandiroba had her moments, especially early on in the fight, but Dern was able to rally and take over. Virna came into the bout ranked at #1 in the division (tied with Tatiana Suarez), while Dern was ranked at #5. The loss snapped a 5-fight win streak for the 37-year-old dating back to her 2021 loss to Amanda Ribas.
Jandiroba is now 8-4 in the UFC, with two of her losses with the promotion coming against Mackenzie. Within the last couple years, Jandiroba has fought nearly every fighter currently ranked in the top 5 of the division, Suarez is the only one that she hasn’t fought- but Tatiana with likely fight for the belt next. Even though the pair have had two cancelled bouts. But a fresh opponent would be Tabatha Ricci.
Ricci was last in action back in July when she stopped Amanda Ribas in the second round of their bout.; Before that, Ricci lost to Yan Xiaonan. Tabatha is currently ranked at #8 in the division and doesn’t have a fight booked. With a 7-3 record in the UFC and some shared opponents, this is a fight that makes a lot of since. Could be high on the main card of a PPV or a fight night card with the winner propelling themselves toward a title shot conversation.
Virna’s next fight: Tabatha Ricci
Mairo Bautista
Umar Nurmagomedov weathered a few moments of adversity on Saturday and secured a unanimous decision win against Mario Bautista. Mario had been riding an impressive 8-fight win streak with his last loss coming in early 2021 against Trevin Jones. Bautista entered the fight ranked at #9 in the division while Umar was all the way at #2.
There’s a scenario where Bautista is paired up with a fighter like Marlon Vera, though not sure if that’s the right matchup for Bautista at this point. It makes a lot of sense from a timing standpoint and the two have already had two scheduled bouts fall through earlier this year. Vera’s ranked at #8 in the division and is coming off a split decision loss to Aiemann Zahabi recently. That said, another option would be against #5 ranked, Song Yadong. Song’s coming off a technical decision to Henry Cejudo in February and is 3-2 in his last five. His two most recent losses are to elite competition (Petr Yan, Cory Sandhagen). Leaning towards Chito- but expect Song or anyone else in the top 15 for an exciting fighter like Bautista. His stock is still rising.
Mairo’s next fight: Song Yadong or Marlon Vera
Jailton Almedia
Jailton Almedia was edged out by Alexander Volkov in a controversial split decision on the main card of UFC 321. Almedia entered the fight ranked at #5 in the heavyweight division while Volkov was ranked at #2. Almedia is now 2-2 in his last four fights, stopping both Alexandr Romanov and Serghei Spivac after losing to Curtis Blaydes last March.
Jailton is now 8-2 with the promotion since being signed off the Contender Series in 2021. The best fight for Jailton to take moving forward is against Sergei Pavolvich. Sergei is ranked at #3 in the heavyweight division and is 8-3 with the promotion. In his last five fights he has an identical record to Alemdia going 3-2. They also share some common opponents as Pavlovich’s last loss was against Alexander Volkov in 2024. Both fighters also recently took on Curtis Blaydes. Pavlovich is currently riding a two-fight win streak as he scored a pair of unanimous decisions earlier this year, against Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Waldo Cortes-Acosta.
Jailton’s next fight: Sergei Pavlovich
Aleksandar Rakic
Azamat Murzakanov stayed perfect as he opened up the UFC 321 main card on Saturday with a first round stoppage of Aleksandar Rakic. Rakic now moves to just 6-5 with the promotion and has lost his last four fights. Aleksandar was stopped in all but one of those losses. It’s been absolutely abysmal for Rakic since 2022 when he suffered a horrific knee injury in his fight with Jan Blachowicz. It took nearly two full years for Rakic to recover and make his return. It’s truly been all downhill from there for the now 33-year-old light heavyweight.
But there is still tread left on the tires! Rakic came into this fight ranked at #7 in the division while Murzakanov was ranked at #10. Rakic doesn’t necessarily need a gimmie fight per se, but it’s imperative that he gets back into the win column against a ranked opponent or potentially face the promotional axe.
Next fight for Rakic should be against Nikita Krylov. Nikita is ranked at #13 in the division and has lost his last two fights. (Pair of first round stoppage losses, Dominick Reyes, Bogdan Guskov). Kryolv was last in action in July against Guskov, but both of those losses have come within the calendar year of 2025. Krylov even had a fight booked against Azamat before those bouts (Azmat withdrew). Krylov’s last win came in 2023 against Ryan Spann. He needs to get in the win column, badly. So does Rakic. A scrappy fight between two 33-year-olds, still in their primes but have had multiple hiccups along their journey. Winner would get a top 10 ranking. A devastating loss could mean being on the dreaded shortlist.
Aleksandar’s next fight: Nikita Krylov
