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DraftKings MMA, UFC DFS Lineup Picks - UFC 321: Aspinall vs. Gane on 10/25/25. Alen's MMA DFS analysis to build winning daily fantasy UFC lineups.
With Jon Jones out of the picture and Francis Ngannou not being an option ever since he joined the PFL, UFC's heavyweight division has been kind of weak, or I should say weaker than it usually is. But now the new champion, Tom Aspinall, is set to defend his undisputed title for the first time in the main event of UFC 321 against former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane. It’s been a long road to get to this point for Aspinall, who became the UFC’s interim heavyweight champ back in November of 2023 and then had to defend the interim belt almost a year ago. Set for October 25, UFC 321 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The card will be the 22nd held in Abu Dhabi, and the first since UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder in July 2025.
To open up the UFC 321 main card, we have a light heavyweight bout between Aleksandar Rakic and knockout artist Azamat Murzakanov, followed by a heavyweight fight between Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida. The winner of this fight will likely be the next in line for a title shot. Also on the main card, former title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov returns to take on surging Mario Bautista, followed by a five-round co-main event between Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern that will decide the new strawweight champion.
In this article, I will be providing you with my fantasy MMA lineup picks for UFC 321: Aspinall vs. Gane on 10/25/25. Give me a follow on X @sumpor5. Good luck!
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DraftKings MMA Heavyweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Tom Aspinall, $9.4K - vs. Ciryl Gane
On Saturday, heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane are scheduled for the UFC 321 main event. This will be Gane's second shot at an undisputed title, and this is Aspinall's first official title defense.
His HW belt is on the line! 👀@AspinallMMA hops back into the Octagon this weekend to defend his title!
[ #UFC321 is LIVE on ESPN PPV | 2pmET | #InAbuDhabi | @AbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/CvjprVuSNL
— UFC (@ufc) October 24, 2025
It took quite some time for Aspinall to become an undisputed champion, 19 months to be exact, the longest interim champion in history. Fans wanted to see a fight between Jones and Aspinall, but Jones retired before announcing just days later that he's back from retirement and that he wants to fight in the White House.
But now that Jones vacated the title, Aspinall is set for his first official title defense. Aspinall has been on a tear, with just two losses in the past decade. One of those losses was due to a knee injury against Curtis Blaydes, and the other resulted in a disqualification after he landed 12-6 elbows on his opponent. Since his first fight with Blaydes, Aspinall has looked outstanding, racking up three first-round knockout finishes, stopping Marcin Tybura, Sergei Pavlovich, and Blaydes, respectively.
After his first-round submission loss to Jones back in 2023 at UFC 285, Gane returned to the win column by finishing Serghei Spivac via second-round TKO. However, Gane's last fight resulted in a split decision win, which frustrated the MMA community, as most fans believed that Alexander Volkov should have won the fight.
Gane won his first fight against Volkov, but in a rematch, he was outclassed as Volkov was pushing the pace, landed better shots, and controlled the distance better. Now 35 years old, this might be Gane's last shot at the UFC gold. Known for his athleticism, speed, and Muay Thai, Gane enters this bout as the underdog.
Aspinall enters this fight with an MMA record of 15-3 and 8-1 in the UFC. He averages 8.07 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 67%. Aspinall absorbs 2.89 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 65%. His grappling has also been great, averaging 3.27 takedowns every 15 minutes and 1.6 submission attempts during the same period. Aspinall has a takedown accuracy of 100% and a takedown defense of 100%.
Gane enters this fight with an MMA record of 13-2 and 10-2 in the UFC. He is averaging 5.26 strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 61%. Gane is absorbing 2.23 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 61%. His grappling is decent at best, averaging 0.70 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 25% and a takedown defense of 43%.
Having watched again the rematch between Gane and Volkov, I have to say, I don't think he has the tools to beat Aspinall. This is the heavyweight division, and anything can happen, but Aspinall is arguably a better striker than Gane and definitely the better wrestler and grappler in general. I'm not sure if he'll knock him out or submit him, but my prediction is that Aspinall is going to finish Gane within three rounds.
DraftKings MMA Bantamweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Umar Nurmagomedov, $9.6K - vs. Mario Bautista
Former title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov is scheduled to face off against surging Mario Bautista on the main card of 321 on Saturday. Nurmagomedov aims to return to the win column while Bautista looks to extend his win streak.
As well rounded as they come 😮💨 @UNmgdv looks to dominate Saturday at #UFC321!
[ @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/v4SussUw2X
— UFC (@ufc) October 24, 2025
Nurmagomedov, who ranked second in the bantamweight division, enters the Octagon for the first time since his title fight loss to champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 in January. That was Nurmagomedov's professional loss of his career, and while the fight was competitive, Dvalishvili's cardio was the difference-maker.
Despite the loss, most believe that he'll get his title shot sooner or later and that he has the best chance of taking the belt away from Dvalishvili. Before his loss to Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov was on a tear, winning 18 consecutive fights, six in the UFC.
Riding an eight-fight win streak, Bautista has established himself as one of the division's top contenders over recent years. The last time Bautista suffered a loss was back in 2021 at UFC 259, where he got TKO'd by Trevin Giles. Despite his winning streak, he has faced criticism for his performance against former two-time featherweight champion Jose Aldo, where he failed to land any of his ten takedown attempts.
Bautista defeated Aldo by split decision, but many are now saying that he's a boring fighter and that Aldo should have won the fight. Bautista was last seen in action in June at UFC 316, where he defeated the former Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix via unanimous decision.
Nurmagomedov enters this fight with an MMA record of 18-1 and 6-1 in the UFC. He is averaging 4.38 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 57%. Nurmagomedov absorbs 2.15 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 60%. His grappling has also been elite, averaging 3.26 takedowns per 15 minutes. His takedown accuracy is 39% and his takedown defense is 78%.
Bautista enters this fight with an MMA record of 16-2 and 10-2 in the UFC. He averages 6.13 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 49%. Bautista absorbs 4.45 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 55%. His grappling is also solid, averaging 1.67 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 33% and a takedown defense of 67%.
Although Bautista has been unstoppable in his last eight fights, I still feel like he's levels below Nurmagomedov. He is just better in every aspect of MMA, except perhaps in jiu-jitsu. Like most Dagestani UFC fighters, Nurmagomedov is known for his top control and relentless wrestling. Not only that, he's also a very skilled striker, and I would also say that he has the better fight IQ than Bautista.
He's likely not going to finish Bautista, but I'm willing to bet he's going to outclass him en route to a unanimous decision win.
DraftKings MMA Light Heavyweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Aleksandar Rakic, $7.9K - vs. Azamat Murzakanov
Aleksandar Rakic and Azamat Murzakanov are scheduled to open up the UFC 321 main card on Saturday. Rakic will look to get back in the win column, while Murzakanov looks to extend his win streak.
One of the cleanest headkicks you'll ever see 🤯@Rakic_UFC seeks another jaw dropping performance at #UFC321!
[ SAT OCT 25 | 2pmET on @ESPN PPV | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/UR4FN0WJwN
— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2025
Aleksandar Rakic returns to the Octagon after a one-year break, and the upcoming match will be of crucial importance for the continuation of his career. After suffering three consecutive losses to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev, Rakic needs to win this fight to keep his place at the very top of the light heavyweight division.
Rakic was once viewed as a future title contender. He is tall, technical, with crisp striking and elite distance management. His wrestling is solid as well, but he does his best work when he fights at range. He has a great jab, and his kicks are his most effective attack, targeting the inside legs and head of his opponents.
Rakic has also changed training camps and started training with the best MMA coach in Serbia, Nemanja Milosevic, so it will be interesting to see what his approach to the fight will be this time.
Undefeated Murzakanov signed with the leading promotion in August 2021 after beating Matheus Scheffel via first-round TKO on Dana White's Contender Series. He made his UFC debut in March 2022 at UFC Vegas 50, where he landed a spectacular flying knee to knock out Tafon Nchukwi in the third round of their bout.
Known for his boxing and knockout power, Murzakanov has knocked out four out of five opponents since joining the promotion. He was last seen in action at UFC 316, where he finished Brendson Ribeiro via TKO in the first round after Ribeiro tapped to punches.
Rakic enters this fight with an MMA record of 14-5 and 6-4 in the UFC. He averages 4.16 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 50%. Rakic absorbs 2.91 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 51%. Regarding his wrestling, Rakic is averaging 0.66 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 23% and a takedown defense of 85%.
Murzakanov enters this fight with a record of 15-0 and 5-0 in the UFC. He averages 4.93 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 57%. Murzakanov absorbs 2.86 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 61%. His grappling has been decent, averaging 0.58 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 15% and a takedown defense of 83%.
There are some questions regarding Rakic's durability and his chin, but we have to keep in consideration that he has only fought the best of the best. On the other hand, Murzakanov has been on a tear, having knocked out 11 out of his 15 opponents, but he hasn't fought fighters nearly on the level of Rakic.
Plus, Rakic loves to fight at range, and he has a six-inch height advantage and a seven-inch reach advantage over Murzakanov. My prediction is that Rakic will pick Murzakanov apart and beat him by unanimous decision.
