“Total pain in the a— but yes. They’re both in shape, other than whatever’s wrong with his eye. Both guys are not injured. As soon as possible,” Dana White stated during the UFC 321 post-fight presser, confirming the inevitable rematch between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane. After the Abu Dhabi headliner ended in a massive debacle, most fans already anticipated the fight would happen sooner rather than later. However, the UFC head honcho didn’t elaborate on when it’s going to take place.

Most fans want to see Tom Aspinall fight Ciryl Gane again after the double eye poke turned the bout into a no-contest. But let’s be honest, the fight itself was shaping up to be a competitive back-and-forth, which actually made the heavyweight clash even more intriguing. So, there’s more reason to watch the rematch than just an unfortunate ending. Still, as much as we all want to see it this year, I believe this matchup would be the perfect kickstarter for the UFC’s Paramount+ era. Let me explain why. 

UFC’s 2025 calendar is already stacked with must-see fights 

First of all, the remainder of the UFC’s 2025 schedule is already packed with some really exciting fights, featuring both PPV and Fight Night events. The promotion will visit the iconic Madison Square Garden on November 15th, where Islam Makhachev will look to achieve double-champ status against welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena in the headliner. Along with that, the card will also aim to redeem the UFC after the largely disappointing Abu Dhabi event. Right after UFC 322, things get even more interesting.

On November 22nd, Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker will clash in a highly anticipated Fight Night main event at the Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Arena in Qatar. While the fight card itself is enough to bring some eyes, what makes it more special is that it’ll be the company’s first-ever event in the State of Qatar. Also, potentially, Ilia Topuria’s next contender might also emerge from this matchup. But that’s not all. The December lineup looks even more exciting.

Following the Qatar showdown, the UFC will head to T-Mobile Arena for UFC 323. In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili will look to make history against Petr Yan by becoming the only fighter in company history to defend an undisputed title for the fourth time. On the same card, Alexandre Pantoja returns in the co-headliner, aiming to stop Joshua Van from becoming the second-youngest champion after Jon Jones. Finally, the UFC will close out the year—and its ESPN deal—with Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape on December 13, 2025, at the UFC Apex.

So, with these amazing cards already in place, it’s very unlikely that the UFC would rush to organize another major event just to fit in Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane 2. Instead, they’ll probably shift the fight to kick off their Paramount+ era, giving them more time to build a proper card around it. Plus, the heavyweight champ’s eye injury might already push the timeline past December anyway. So, Dana White might end up scheduling the rematch in January 2026. 

Tom Aspinall’s eye injury could delay the Ciryl Gane rematch into first Paramount+ card  

At UFC 321, Ciryl Gane’s extended fingers found Tom Aspinall’s eyes, completely ruining the main event and enforcing a no-contest ruling by referee Jason Herzog.. In agonizing pain, the Manchester juggernaut confronted the booing fans, saying, “I didn’t do the f—ing poke. I can’t see!” After that, Aspinall left the arena wearing an eye patch and carrying a lot of unanswered questions.

As the event turned into an absolute disaster, fans immediately started demanding a rematch, and Dana White didn’t waste any time confirming that it would happen. But not without taking a dig at Aspinall for not continuing the fight. White said at the post-fight presser, “I think there probably will be a lot more interest in the rematch after they saw he had Tom bloodied up. Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight. The rematch is very interesting.”

The UFC head honcho’s comments sparked massive debate online. Some fans claimed the reigning heavyweight champ actually quit, while industry experts like Ariel Helwani pointed out the eye-poke rule, arguing that Ciryl Gane should’ve been disqualified and the fight shouldn’t have been ruled a no-contest. Meanwhile, updates began coming in from Tom Aspinall’s camp. 

His father and head coach, Andy Aspinall, spoke about his son’s condition on the heavyweight champ’s official YouTube channel. “We got an appointment yesterday morning with a friend of ours who is one of the doctors at the UFC, and he got us a private appointment at Cheadle hospital,” he said. Aspinall Sr. also raised serious concerns, claiming that his son could only see 50% and through just one of his eyes.

Andy Aspinall added, “He [the doctor] said, it’s bad, it’s not good. His eye is a little bit more closed than it was, and his right eye, he still can’t see anything—it’s just grey. His left eye, 50 percent—so one’s really blurry and one’s still not working,” 

With that, it’s fair to assume Tom Aspinall will need a couple more months to fully recover from his damaged eyes. If the 265-pound kingpin takes the next few weeks to heal and return to full health, that automatically leaves January as the perfect time for him to face ‘Bon Gamin’ again. And honestly, that fight makes perfect sense to kickstart the Paramount+ CBS era — fans would be eager to see how the rematch unfolds after such a huge debacle.  

Adding to that, with Dana White not having a major fight lined up for January 2026, this scenario seems even more likely. 

Why this could be the ideal launch point for Dana White’s 2026 vision

So far, the UFC head honcho hasn’t revealed his plans for the first Paramount+ CBS card. A few weeks ago, rumors started circulating that Ilia Topuria might headline the January card, possibly against Justin Gaethje or Paddy Pimblett. However, White quickly shut down that talk, saying in an interview with TNT Sports, “As of right now, no, we haven’t made that fight. We’re trying to figure out what’s next for Topuria,” confirming that the promotion is still exploring options.

However, popular MMA page WestTilDeath claimed on Instagram that Alexander Volkanovski might make his return in Australia, possibly against Lerone Murphy for UFC 325. They captioned the post, “#UFC is planning to return to Sydney, Australia, on January 31st (February 1st in Australia) for #UFC325 … Alexander Volkanovski & Tai Tuivasa are expected to be on the card.” If ‘The Great’ does return at UFC 325, then that leaves the UFC 324 card with a vacant slot — one that clearly needs a strong main event to kick things off.

And while the UFC continues to figure out Topuria’s next opponent, Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane 2, backed by a stacked supporting lineup, could easily fill that spot. Honestly, what better way for Dana White to begin his 2026 plans in a new era than with a controversial rematch that fans never got a satisfying ending to?

That being said, do you actually believe the UFC 321 main event rematch should be the one to kick off the UFC’s Paramount+ era? Let us know in the comments below.