Tom Aspinall’s UFC 321 did not go as planned after he came in with high expectations.
The good news is that Aspinall does not appear to have picked up any lasting injuries after his first defence of the undisputed heavyweight title ended because of an eye poke.
After being more than a year without a fight, walking away without a clear result was tough to take.
Although the expectation is that they will book a rematch, the Briton will need to serve a medical suspension before he is cleared to fight again.
This is not how many saw it going. A lot of people thought this would be the beginning of something special for Aspinall, but now he will have to wait for another chance to prove himself.
Daniel Cormier tries to clarify backstage comments after UFC 321
After UFC 321, some fans felt Ciryl Gane was in control early, and that momentum could have carried through if not for the fight’s abrupt ending.
The opening round was closer than many had predicted, even though a lot of people expected Aspinall to have the upper hand throughout.
A video surfaced from behind the scenes during fight week in Abu Dhabi, showing Daniel Cormier speaking about Aspinall’s potential title run and saying Jailton Almeida ‘can’t fight.’
‘DC’ took criticism and later addressed this on ESPN MMA’s ‘Good Guy / Bad Guy’, saying he thought it was a private chat and felt the video missed important context.
“I was literally trying to tell him, ‘You could be on the verge of something tremendously special right now’. In that statement, I was saying, ‘Jailton’s going to grapple you. It’s not as dangerous a fight.’ I could have done a better job of saying that to Tom.
“Now, I was a little upset that Tom didn’t release that if I’m being honest with you. When you lean in to someone and you’re talking quietly, that’s a private conversation. That should stay between you and the athlete.”
Jailton Almeida struggles to convince fans of his quality following UFC 321 defeat
It is not often that a fighter on the card gets criticised so strongly by a commentator during fight week, but that is what happened in the build-up to UFC 321.
After Saturday night, it turned out plenty of fans were in agreement with Cormier’s assessment. Almeida’s split-decision loss to Alexander Volkov did not do much to win people over.
Even though he had nearly 11 minutes of control time, Almeida only managed nine significant strikes and did not attempt a single submission. It was another performance that left fans questioning whether he is ready for another big opportunity anytime soon.
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