UFC 321 results, winners, takeaways: Five things we learned in Abu Dhabi

For the first time in UFC history, a no contest was immediately declared in the main event of a title fight after an inadvertent eye poke brought an early end to UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. 

Technically, it’s the second title bout in the promotion’s 32 years to become a no contest, although the 2017 Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier rematch at UFC 214 didn’t become one until it was later revealed that Jones failed a drug test. Either way, the ending proved anticlimactic for the much-hyped heavyweight title bout between champion Tom Aspinall and former interim titleholder Cyril Gane that was designed to — finally — allow the division to move forward.

Aspinall’s rough ending wasn’t the only result worth talking about from this pay-per-view event, however. Let’s take a closer look at the biggest takeaways. 

1. If it wasn’t for bad luck, Tom Aspinall would have no luck at all

Talk about a rough way to end the first defense of your undisputed championship. Aspinall had already been forced to sit out against his own will for the past 15 months while former champion Jon Jones did everything he could to avoid accepting the terms of a title bout that could’ve been the biggest in UFC history. All this after Aspinall, 32, had been forced to put his career dreams on hold for more than two years (despite being interim champion) after Jones got injured, sat out for a full year, fought an inactive Stipe Miocic and then chose to vacate his title and retire (only to announce his intention to return four days later). 

Let’s not even mention the freak 2022 knee injury that Aspinall suffered in his first fight with Curtis Blaydes (avenged by first-round knockout two years later) that forced the native of England to miss a full year while already on the verge of a title shot. On Saturday, Aspinall never even made it out of Round 1, which had been a recurring theme considering 15 of his 18 pro fights had only gone a similar distance. But this time it was an accidental yet damaging foul from Gane when his outstretched left arm resulted in deep pokes to both of Aspinall’s eyes. You truly do have to feel for Aspinall. He has been desperately trying to carve out a title reign and prove his greatness yet has been routinely held back by things completely out of his control.

2. It’s not as if we didn’t learn anything from Aspinall-Gane, however

Throughout the four full minutes before the eye pokes brought an end to the action, it’s important not to miss just how good Gane looked. The 35-year-old native of France had been resoundingly counted out ahead of this fight, not just because of two title defeats in the past three years, but because almost no one thought he had deserved the decision against Alexander Vokov in December. And while it’s unknown if the success he was having on his feet against Aspinall would’ve proven sustainable as the fight progressed, Gane relied on his quicker footwork to routinely meet Aspinall coming forward with stiff jabs that caused blood to flow from the nose of the champion throughout. Gane also had visibly bulked up for this bout and took the few punches Aspinall landed well, which is important considering Aspinall had finished all 15 career wins before the end of Round 2, including a whopping 12 in the first round. Gane also stuffed the early takedown attempts from Aspinall. It’s clear that Gane took what many had called his final shot at the championship as seriously as possible and that only adds a ton of interesting more wrinkles to their inevitable rematch, once Aspinall is deemed medically fit to return. 

3. Perseverance paved the way to Mackenzie Dern’s big moment

Let’s be honest, her run to a strawweight title win at UFC 321 wasn’t always pretty. Labeled by many as “the next Ronda Rousey” once she turned pro in MMA, Dern’s first eight years featured weight misses, inconsistency, questions about her commitment and a key stretch from 2021 to 2024 where, despite being a regular headliner, she lost four of six fights. And did she also benefit on Saturday from the fact that living legend and two-time champion Weili Zhang chose to vacate her 115-pound title just in time during a stretch in which this routinely deep division had become anything but? To be honest, that also helped. But Dern, at 32, finally fulfilled her long-term career potential in her rematch against Virna Jandiroba because of her toughness and unwillingness to give up. Back with head coach Jason Parillo after a few lineup shifts in her corner in recent years, Dern’s boxing looked the best it ever has against Jandiroba, which proved to be the difference in her unanimous decision win. It may have taken five UFC defeats for Dern to get to this point, but the fact that she did is a testament to her ability to bounce back from setbacks, criticism and the outside-the-cage drama that occasionally found its way into her fights. Seeing Dern, a single mother, celebrate in the cage with her daughter Moa as tears flowed turned out to be a truly moving moment. 

4. Umar Nurmagomedov was impressive but not dominant in search of title rematch

Despite 30-27 scorecards across the board in his bantamweight eliminator fight against Mario Bautista, Nurmagomedov was anything but dominant in a competitive fight. Yes, the younger cousin of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov showcased his well-rounded skill to snap the eight-fight win streak of his opponent. But Nurmagomedov failed to equal with his performance both the expectations of the oddsmakers (who had him a massive 6-to-1 betting favorite) and UFC CEO Dana White (who had challenged Nurmagomedov to look dominant should he want an immediate title shot). What Nurmagomedov did was bounce back from his first pro defeat, which came in his January title loss to Merab Dvalishvili in a fight in which Nurmagomedov broke his left hand early. He also fought off an early submission attempt from Bautista, who made Nurmagomedov work in just about every category. So, will he get the winner of Dvalishvili’s December rematch against former champion Petr Yan? That remains to be seen. Nurmagomedov’s talent might not jump off the screen akin to his Hall-of-Fame cousin or his teammate, former lightweight king Islam Makhachev, but he’s easily one of the most skilled fighters on the planet and an eventual title reign still feels like it could be in the cards. 

5. For once, the officiating wasn’t the story at a big-time UFC event

Considering recent history, let’s consider this one a big win. MMA referees have been under fire this calendar year, mostly for their combined lack of adhering to the rules as it pertains to fouls and the enforcement of penalties. Most eye pokes, low blows and blatant fence grabs have come, sometimes even without a stern warning. On Saturday, multiple points were taken away, often in decisive fashion (i.e. without a warning), which has been long overdue. The problem of accidental eye pokes, which felled the main event, still linger, however. A great development to make sure fighters stop doing exactly what Gane did to create the foul would be to see referees instantly take a point away at the first sign of contact between extended fingers and an opponent’s eye to begin to retrain the athletes just how costly it will be to continue to operate so haphazardly. Still, it was great to see the officials waste no time in setting a baseline as to what was and wasn’t acceptable inside the Octagon at UFC 321.