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Dana White Reveals UFC 321 Heavyweight Main Event, Jon Jones Era Officially Over

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Michael Aldon | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 8:13 PM ET

When Dana White announced Jon Jones’ retirement from the UFC, Tom Aspinall was immediately crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion. After going nearly a year without fighting, Aspinall revealed that he has lofty goals within the heavyweight division, and that includes defeating the entire top 10 roster.

In an interview with UFC veteran Stefan Struve, Aspinall inched closer toward that goal, revealing that he had officially signed a contract. As to who his opponent would be, most MMA media believe it would be Ciryl Gane, who climbed back to title contention talks ever since his loss to Jones at UFC 285.

Today, Dana White has announced a slew of title fights for the upcoming pay-per-view slate, including a heavyweight championship clash between Aspinall and Gane.

He announced via Instagram Live, “UFC 321, October 25th, Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Tom Aspinall will face Ciryl Gane. Aspinall has 15 wins, and all of them are by finish. Gane is the no. 1-ranked heavyweight.”

Watch the full announcement here:

Dana White announces:#UFC320

Ankalaev/Pereira 2
Merab/Sandhagen
Prochzaka/Rountree#UFC321
Aspinall/Gane

Says #UFC319 is already sold out and broke the gate record for the arena. No co-main event announced yet. pic.twitter.com/eeiLahQ04s
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) July 22, 2025

Initially, Aspinall was expected to unify the titles against Jones, but the former champion’s inactivity left the division in limbo.

Although Jones has recently announced his intentions of returning to the UFC for the White House pay-per-view event, the heavyweight champion, Aspinall, has a new opponent to train for currently in Gane. Now, Aspinall aims to prove he’s more than a placeholder champion, while Gane seeks redemption after his previous title losses.

Gane will be given another attempt at touching undisputed championship status after losing his last two title fights to Francis Ngannou and Jones.

The rest of the card is expected to feature other high-profile bouts, with other fights yet to be announced.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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