UFC 321 is live from Abu Dhabi this Saturday.
That means an early card, an early main card. The prelims start at 10:00 AM ET, and the main card will begin at 2:00 PM ET. Leaving your evening free for football, early Halloween parties, or more fights if you need them at night.
So, to help get your weekend get started, check out our preview from this week’s Coast-2-Coast Combat Hour, where we agreed across the board for our main card picks.
UFC 321
Here are our main card picks for this weekend’s pay-per-view.
Only a few “pay-per-views” left this year, too! Then, UFC is on Paramount in 2026.
Tom Aspinall (c) vs. Ciryl Gane
Recency bias has me apprehensive about picking Aspinall here.
I think he can beat Gane, but he has also been shelved for a long time. That can be both a good and bad thing, depending on how Aspinall has been spending his time off.
Still, I’m going to go with Aspinall here.
Pick: Tom Aspinall
Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern
As a Jiu-Jitsu guy, and many of the fight fans in love with Dern, I want her to win.
I think she definitely can if the fight goes to the ground. But this isn’t a grappling match or beauty contest. In the rules of MMA, Jandiroba has more tools to beat Dern.
Pick: Virna Jandiroba
Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista
It’s getting boring, but who are we kidding here?
In Abu Dhabi, a heavy Russian presence with a guy who’s usually a decision winner. I know he’s coming off a loss, and his Khabib hype train stopped in his last fight. But I can’t see him losing Abu Dhabi.
Pick: Umar Nurmagomedov
Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida
I like this matchup a lot. Volkov lost to the title challenger on this card, but was on a win streak before that. Almeida is riding a two-fight win streak now and could use this feather in his cap if he wants a run at the title.
I see a finish coming in this one. My fandom has me leaning towards Volkov.
Pick: AlexanderVolkov
Aleksandar Rakić vs. Azamat Murzakanov
Rakic has more experience, but he could also be on the tail end of his career.
Murzakanov is on a win streak that doesn’t look like it’s ending anytime soon.
Pick: Azamat Murzakanov
For more details on why we went with these picks, check out the latest podcast here:
TLDR:
Tom Aspinall
Virna Jandiroba
Umar Nurmagomedov
Azamat Murzakanov
For Your Evening Viewing
Saturday night is usually fight night for us Americans.
So, if you’re in need of some P.M. combat sports, Spectation Sports has you covered. Some of you know I do fighter features/interviews for them, and for this weekend, I spoke with Alan Olivas.
He takes on former UFC vet Justin Scoggins at Syngergy FC 23. Check out my interview with him where we spoke about the fight, facing UFC-caliber talent, and how he fits into it all:
That’s it for this week’s MMA scribbles.
Heavy day with some heavy fights, what’re you watching?
🍿 Fight Night Favorites
Hosting fight night? Grab this UFC Adrenaline Fight Week Men’s Long Sleeve T-Shirt and enjoy the card in style.
👉 [Affiliate link]
📝Take Notes!
Want a digital template to make your predictions for upcoming bouts? Sign up for my personal email list and use this one I made (free).
📣 Support the Newsletter
Like what you’re reading? Support this newsletter by checking out the gear picks above — your clicks through those affiliate links help keep this content rolling, and it costs you nothing extra.
Feeling generous? Forward this to someone training hard or a fan of martial arts. 💪