Tom Aspinall will secure a finish at UFC 321 but it will not come by way of strikes against Ciryl Gane this weekend according to an ex-UFC titleholder. The fighter in question is Michael Bisping who got into breaking down Saturday's UFC pay-per-view main event on his personal YouTube channel.
'The Count' has been one to highly tout Aspinall in the past but Bisping is also not siding with oddsmakers insofar as the odds which position the UFC heavyweight champion as such a favorite that it would indicate they think a one-sided beating is on the cards. When touchign on Aspinall's first defense of the undisputed title, after he previously defended his interim strap last July, Michael Bisping said,
It's going to be an entertaining fight. I don't necessarily see this being one way traffic the way that Tom has dealt with all his other opponents."
"Gane will have learned from the loss to Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. He knows he's got some shortcomings and gaps to fill."
"Ultimately, I still think that Tom Aspinall gets it done. It will be a stoppage. Probably a submission. If you want to put your bet on by way of finish, I will say a ground and pound finish.
Tom Aspinall sees a "pretty obvious" next challenger post-UFC 321
Tom Aspinall is squarely focused on the task at hand against Ciryl Gane in the coming days but it's not lost on what could await the UK native if he gets his ideal outcome against Gane in Abu Dhabi. The proximity point to who that next opponent would be exists within a consequential contest on the October 25th undercard and when speaking to assembled reporters at the UFC 321 pre-fight media day, Aspinall stated [via MMA Mania],
Whatever the UFC wants to do. It’s pretty obvious that they’re going to do winner vs. winner of me vs Gane, and Volkov vs. Almeida. Not like a tag team match. The winner of us vs. the winner of them, that’s what I think it’s going to be next for the heavyweight title.
In a context where Aspinall wins this weekend, Alexander Volkov would be a rematch for him whereas Jailton Almeida would represent a fresh matchup. Either way, Aspinall seems keen to be an active champion after the pro,onger dormancy period at heavyweight when Jon Jones ruled over the division before he ultimately retired without fighting Aspinall in a unification bout.