Dana White announced Tom Aspinall's first fight as undisputed heavyweight champion at UFC 321, fans react: "Jon Jones really ducked SMH"

Dana White (left) announced the name of the first challenger for Tom Aspinall
Dana White (left) announced the name of the first challenger for Tom Aspinall's (right) title. [Images courtesy: UFC on YouTube, @tomaspinallofficial on Instagram]

Fans gave mixed reactions as Dana White announced Tom Aspinall's first title defence as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. Aspinall, the former interim heavyweight champion, was elevated to undisputed champion after Jon Jones announced his retirement before a unification bout could materialize.

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In a recent social media live interaction, White announced that Aspinall will attempt his first undisputed title defence against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321, scheduled for Oct. 25 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

MMA content page @ChampRDS re-posted the news on X:

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Fans flooded the comments section to share their thoughts on the announcement. Many fans proactively shared their prediction for the fight. A section of fans criticized Jones for not fighting Aspinall, while a few questioned UFC's decison to grant another title shot to Gane, who is coming off a controversial win over Alexander Volkov in a rematch.

One fan commented:

"Jon really ducked SMH."
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Another fan wrote:

"Tom will absolutely violate him."
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Check out more fan reactions below:

Fan reactions [Screenshots courtesy: @ChampRDS on X]
Fan reactions [Screenshots courtesy: @ChampRDS on X]

A look at Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane's recent career trajectories

Tom Aspinall (15-3) is considered among the best heavyweight fighters of the current Era. The Brit rose to prominence when he captured the interim heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in November 2023.

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While he campaigned for a title unification bout with former champion Jon Jones, Jones frequently changed his stance, ultimately retiring from professional MMA a few months ago.

Aspinall officially holds the record for being the longest reigning interim champion in UFC history. He defended the interim heavyweight title with a at UFC 304 in July 2024.

It was also the first time that the interim UFC title was defended since Renan Barao's iconic UFC 165 knockout win over Eddie Wineland in September 2013.

Meanwhile, Ciryl Gane (13-2 MMA) has significantly reduced his activity level since losing to Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall in heavyweight title fights. He has fought twice since March 2023, defeating Serghei Spivak and Akexnader Volkov. However, the as a large section of MMA community believed that Volkov deserved the judges' nod.

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Edited by Rajneesh Suhas Reddy
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