KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
As the lights shine brightly over the UFC 321 card this Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, all eyes are trained firmly on three fights that will stand out among a stacked card for fans in the UAE.
In the headliner, the heavyweight king Tom Aspinall defends his strap against former interim champ and dynamic technician Ciryl Gane. The strawweight division fight between ladies Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern may be a rematch, but it is also the first women's UFC fight to be held in the country.
The clan of fighters in and around the family of Nurmagomedov perk up interest in this region, so Umar Nurmagomedov's clash with Mario Bautista, among others, adds further intrigue to the night.
In the press conference ahead of the fight, Aspinall – now officially undisputed champion after the retirement of Jon Jones – made it clear his focus is resolutely on Gane. "Ciryl's the guy I'm fighting, so he's the biggest test right now," Aspinall said, but he also added that his opponent's "fate is sealed".
He admitted the pressure of defending the title is real: "Don't want to get beat up… it's heavyweight MMA," he acknowledged, nodding at the risks ahead. For his part, Gane, battling to convert his elite skills into gold, stepped into the spotlight with composure. He emphasised his evolution: "We've both got better … this fight's going to be better," Gane reflected when asked about the matchup's significance.
Aspinall added: "I think this is really like the new age of the heavyweights and people are really going to start to see the difference between guys like us and guys 10 years ago." He didn't shy away from predicting his own finishing ability: "If I can hit anybody, I can knock them out. Ciryl is no exception."
Gane, while more measured, knows the opportunity of yet another title shot is massive – he's one of the few heavyweights who blend striking fluency with mobility and a strong ground game. Their clash promises to combine those elements: explosive finishes from Aspinall versus Gane's calculated jab-to-kick rhythm and submission threat.
Turning to the strawweight, Jandiroba reprised her journey with an honesty that underscored why this fight means so much. "To dream of something is great, but to finally get to do it is even better. On Saturday, we're gonna be able to finally do it. It was a long road, but now I'm finally here, and I'm here to take the belt on Saturday.
"It's all about the belt, not the opponent," she stressed. That would be easier said than done because Dern beat her nine fights ago by a unanimous decision. While Jandiroba is on a five-match winning streak compared to Dern's two, the latter is also soaking in the morale boost from the fact that Abu Dhabi is where she won her first world title as a black belt grappler at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship 10 years back.
Jandiroba insisted of their previous meeting: "The loss was very important … what I learned from it … I'm a completely different person and a completely different fighter than I was back then."
Dern felt this is a chance to close a chapter and launch another: "I'm proud of my journey, and I think that's what's going to make me a great champion, is the adversity that I went through. I really just feel like this is going get all of us a little bit more uplifted … The main goal is to beat Virna, win the belt, and then we'll see."
Down the card, Umar Nurmagomedov's bout adds serious stakes at bantamweight. Smarting from his January loss to Merab Dvalishvili, the cousin of legendary lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov, believes he's in a prime position to fight for a title once again. The lone defeat in 19 bouts for the 29-year-old still comes across better than the 16-2 record of Mario Bautista.
It has fans speculating already that a Nurmagomedov victory will almost certainly see him face the winner of December's title showdown between Dvalishvili and Petr Yan. Bautista, 32, has other ideas. "We'll see after Saturday. I have the chance to shake things up, to change the direction of the division."
Nurmagomedov asked UFC President Dana White directly. And the latter quipped: "Could this fight be the contender fight? Go out there and put on a show on Saturday that makes people go, 'Damn, one of these guys should be fighting for the title next'." Nurmagomedov replied on stage: "OK, I'm going to do it."