Image source, Getty Images

It's time for us to wrap up this live text.

Nothing to really get us going from the news conference but Saturday's title bout should bring the excitement.

We will be back tomorrow for the weigh-ins and on Saturday for fight night too.

If you come to the UFC for finishes then Tom Aspinall must be your favourite fighter, right?

The 32-year-old has never gone the distance in his 18-fight career and boasts an incredible 12 knockouts and three submissions from his 15 wins.

Since making his UFC debut in 2020, heavyweight Aspinall has fought nine times and seen the second round just once.

His total fight time across those nine fights is just 18 minutes and 21 seconds.

Umar Nurmagomedov appealed to Dana White that his fight with Mario Bautista should be the number one contender for Merab Dvalishvili's bantamweight belt.

White told the Russian to basically to go out and put on a performance worthy of a title shot.

Dominant champion Dvalishvili, who beat Nurmagomedov earlier this year, is booked to fight Petr Yan in December.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

We will have a new strawweight champion by the time UFC 321 concludes.

After three successful defences, Zhang Weili vacated the belt to move up to flyweight and face champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322.

Who takes the vacant strap between Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern?

Image source, Getty Images

Today is the second time Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane have come face-to-face at a news conference.

The pair held court in UFC Paris fight week back in September and unsurprisingly Aspinall was heavily booed as fans showed support for their countryman Gane.

Aspinall did eventually manage to get a few words in.

"If I hit anybody, I can knock anybody out. Ciryl is no exception," Aspinall said. "There are some weaknesses in his ground game, but I'm sure he's improved.

"It's rare to see two heavyweights our size move like we do. This is the new age of heavyweights."

As always, we've got a vote running on who wins Saturday's main event at UFC 321.

Are you backing Manchester's Tom Aspinall to retain his title? Or do you fancy France's Ciryl Gane to cause an upset?

You can cast your vote at the top of this page.

Former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion Nathaniel Wood made his UFC debut in 2018. He has won nine, lost three with the promotion and has an overall record of 21 victories and six defeats.

But five wins from his last six trips to the octagon has seen Wood emerge as a contender for a spot in the featherweight rankings.

Despite only signing for the UFC in early 2025, Jose Delgado should offer a good test to Wood.

The American has an overall record of 10 wins and one defeat, winning both his UFC contests via knockout and has only gone the distance once in his career.

Tom Aspinall isn't the only Briton on this weekend's card. Featherweight Nathaniel Wood is also in action against Jose Delgado.

Wood is preparing to fight in Abu Dhabi for the fourth time. His last visit in 2023 ended in defeat to Muhammad Naimov following struggles with his mental health.

The Londoner has anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) - a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours., external

"It comes in waves. Sometimes you can be absolutely fine and then you could have what I call a 'dark cloud day' where you're just anxious and obsess over things," Wood told BBC Sport.

"Unfortunately my time came on fight week. As I flew out, I was suffering with really bad anxiety.

"When I have OCD, it doesn't let me move on. So the whole week I didn't care about the fight. I was just thinking about stuff I didn't need to be thinking about and obsessing over it."

Image source, Getty Images

Tom Aspinall certainly dressed for the occasion today and he's got a special outfit for fight night too.

The champion will be wearing custom-made fight Union Jack fight shorts this weekend.

Thoughts on the shorts?

We're still waiting on images to land our way from the news conference but we will add them into this live text once they come our way.

Can't have you missing out on seeing Tom Aspinall's lovely suit!

"Come on Tommy," is the shout as the two heavyweights step onto the stage.

They are very well-matched in height - both standing six foot, five inches - and after a brief stare down, they shake hands and part ways.

That's it from the news conference.

Nothing too dramatic but Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane do appear to have plenty of respect for each other, so I certainly wasn't expecting fireworks.

Tom Aspinall, in his cream suit, is checking his phone as he waits at the side of stage.

The fighters will all be back in a few moments to face off.

Image source, Getty Images

Tom Aspinall is asked about yesterday saying he will win by split decision and whether it was a joke.

"That's the plan, jab and hold, jab and hold against the fence," Aspinall responds.

"We'll be booing then", says the reporter, before Dana White chimes in "so will I".

Image source, Getty Images

Paul Battison
BBC Sport in Abu Dhabi

Someone behind me just shouted out "let's go honey badger" - the nickname for Tom Aspinall which a group of fans have been trying to get to stick.

The Briton, who sees the funny side but isn't too keen on the nickname, was unmoved on stage.

Aspinall has not fought since July 2024 and is asked how he has stayed motivated:

"I am fuelled up, don't worry about that."

Tom Aspinall said yesterday that he anyone who predicts they will "take him into deep water" gets knocked out, asked if that's his prediction, he says:

"No. It just so happens that's how it has happened with people that say that. "

Ciryl Gane has just two defeats on his MMA record but both of those losses have come in title fights.

"Trust me I did something really deep in this camp. We took a long time, starting in Paris and then trained in Dubai and hopefully you will see the results on Saturday," Gane says.

Ciryl Gane is asked a question by a French reporter and opts to answer in his native language, but once again is interrupted by some cheers from the Tom Aspinall fans.

"Since the beginning of my career I have been very determined and focused. For the past few months I made sacrifices and I think it will show this weekend," Gane says.