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Tom Aspinall will return to action for the first time in more than a year. | Getty/UFC
Tom Aspinall said an announcement regarding his next fight was imminent, and now his first official title defense has been confirmed.
The promotion announced on Tuesday that Aspinall will defend the heavyweight crown against Ciryl Gane in the UFC 321 headliner in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 25. Aspinall was promoted to undisputed heavyweight king when Jon Jones retired in June.
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Both Aspinall and Gane Have Been Interim Champions
Aspinall captured the interim strap with a first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 and defended the belt with a first-round stoppage of Curtis Blaydes in his most recent Octagn appearance at UFC 304 this past July. His lone loss in UFC competition came when he suffered a knee injury in his first meeting with Blaydes at UFC Fight Night 208 in July 2022. The 32-year-old Brit has finished all of his opponents in the promotion, with other notable wins coming against the likes of Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, Serghei Spivac and Andre Arlovski.
This will be Gane’s third attempt at undisputed heavyweight gold during his UFC tenure. After capturing the interim crown with a third-round stoppage of Derrick Lewis at UFC 265, “Bon Gamin” dropped a five-round verdict to Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 in January 2022. The Frenchman would vie for the vacant strap against Jones at UFC 285, losing via first-round guillotine choke. The 35-year-old MMA Factory representative has since posted back-to-back triumphs over Spivac and Volkov.
UFC 321 takes place at Etihad Arena in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and is also expected to include a heavyweight showdown between Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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