Aspinall vs Gane weigh-in reveals size advantage while Umar Nurmagomedov has near miss

Tom Aspinall will defend the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 321

Tom Aspinall weighed in 7.5lb (3.4kg) heavier than Ciryl Gane ahead of UFC 321, as the Briton prepares to defend the heavyweight title in Abu Dhabi.

When Aspinall faces Gane in Saturday’s main event, he will be defending the undisputed belt for the first time, having been elevated from interim champion when Jon Jones retired this summer.

Meanwhile, France’s Gane is challenging for the undisputed title for the third time, having previously held the interim strap but having lost two undisputed fights – against Francis Ngannou in 2022 and Jones in 2023.

And ahead of Saturday’s headline bout, Aspinall tipped the scales at 255lb on Friday, before Gane weighed in at 247.5lb.

Aspinall, 32, was 4lb heavier than in his last fight, a July 2024 rematch with Curtis Blaydes, which the Wigan heavyweight won with a knockout in 60 seconds. With that victory in Manchester, Aspinall retained the interim belt after making the rare decision to defend it.

Meanwhile, Gane was 2lb heavier than at his last weigh-in, which preceded a controversial split-decision win over Alexander Volkov in December. Previously, Gane, 35, beat Volkov via unanimous decision in 2021.

Also during Friday’s weigh-in, local favourite Umar Nurmagomedov – cousin of UFC legend Khabib – had a near miss, with his weight initially read as 136.5lb. That was 0.5lb over the bantamweight limit, but a second reading was swiftly delivered, announcing the Russian’s weight as 136lb.

Nurmagomedov, who narrowly lost a title fight with champion Merab Dvalishvili in January, takes on Mario Bautista on Saturday.

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall (Action Images via Reuters)

Also, Azat Maksum tipped the scales at 129lb – 3lb over the flyweight limit. As a result, he will be fined 30 per cent of his purse from his fight with Mitch Raposo, which will still go ahead.

Furthermore, British featherweight Nathaniel Wood was inside the 146lb limit before his opponent, Jose Miguel Delgado, tipped the scales at 147lb. Their bout will go ahead, although Delgado is set to be fined a percentage of his purse, like Maksum.

Elsewhere on the card, Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady’s fight with Matheus Camilo was cancelled due to “personal reasons” on Al-Selwady’s side.