Tom Aspinall predicts UFC 321 undercard fight that will decide who he’ll face after Ciryl Gane

Tom Aspinall predicts Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida

Tom Aspinall told Bloody Elbow that he thinks Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida will decide his next challenger.

“That’s how I see it, and I think that’s pretty obvious,” he said when asked about the heavyweight bout.

The heavy-handed Englishman also shared his thoughts on the matchup. Aspinall openly admits he is more familiar with Volkov after picking up a submission win over him at UFC London in March 2022.

That, combined with the Russian heavyweight’s recent form, makes him the favorite, according to the king of UFC heavyweights, who thinks Volkov was unlucky to lose a split decision against Ciryl Gane at UFC 310 in December 2024.

“I actually thought that Volkov won the fight against Gane, to be honest, Aspinall added.

“I think Volkov is in really good form right now.

“I do think Almeida is good. I’ve not seen enough of Almeida’s game to say how good he actually is.

“At this point, it’s hard to say, but I would favor Volkov in that one.”

What about Jon Jones?

Tom Aspinall was supposed to fight Jon Jones in a heavyweight unification fight this year.

In June, ‘Bones’ shocked the MMA world by announcing his retirement from the sport.

Dana White thought he had a done deal that would reportedly pay Jones $30 million to face Aspinall.

Just days later, Jones made a U-turn on retirement and announced his intention to fight on the UFC White House card in June 2026.

Still angry, White has ruled out allowing Jones to make an appearance at the unique UFC event.

There is still time for a change of heart that would see the winner of Volkov vs. Almeida snubbed.

For now, they are the frontrunners to face Aspinall if he deals with the very dangerous Ciryl Gane.