Las Vegas in December? Madison Square Garden? Where and when could Tom Aspinall v Ciryl Gane UFC heavyweight title rematch happen?

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There was a sense of frustration in Abu Dhabi after the much-anticipated main event between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane ended in a no contest. The immediate concern is surrounding Aspinall's health, and assuming the heavyweight champion recovers as expected, focus will soon turn to the date of a potential rematch. TNT Sports' Michael Bisping gave his thoughts on when the fight should take place.

Highlights: Controversy as main event between Aspinall and Gane ended by eye poke

Video credit: TNT Sports

Michael Bisping has insisted the UFC heavyweight title rematch between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane will take place this year.

The main event at UFC 321 ended as a no contest after Aspinall was the victim of a double eye poke and required hospital treatment.

UFC president Dana White said after the fight that a rematch would be booked following an anticlimactic evening in Abu Dhabi.

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Speaking on TNT Sports' UFC 321 Review Show, host Adam Catterall said: "The word that I used at the start of the show was 'disaster' and it's the right word to be using right now. But when the dust settles on this, this could actually turn out to be a good thing for the heavyweight division that we all thought was going to get absolutely obliterated by one particular guy.

"From a fight fan's point of view, you want to see competition, you want to see a bit of jeopardy, you want to have proper conversations about certain things.

"Dana White's already said, we are running this back straight away, as soon as possible, therefore the conversation from a fan's point of view is going to be different."

‘Why are you booing?’ – Aspinall and Gane react after main event ended by eye poke

Video credit: TNT Sports

Former middleweight champion Bisping said: "The good news is that they are going to run it back soon, because there's a lot of time and effort and mental energy that goes into preparing for a world title fight.

"Ciryl Gane's been out in Abu Dhabi for a very, very long time, and these training camps, they're not easy to go through, mentally or physically. And financially, they cost a lot of money as well, flying a whole team out to Abu Dhabi, staying in hotels.

"Also, you peak at a certain time. You structure your training camp to peak at fight week. Of course, these guys don't have to worry about making weight, so technically, they could do the fight next week as long as Tom's eye's fine. But do it sooner rather than later."

Asked if the fight will likely be this year, Bisping added: "100%. MSG [UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden], December [in Las Vegas] or even the first Fight Night on Paramount."

Nick Peet, meanwhile, identified UFC 323 in Las Vegas as the prime opportunity to schedule a rematch.

"I'd do that, I'd do Vegas in December," he said. "I'd put it on the top of the bill, knock Merab [Dvalishvili] down one.

"Tom will want to do it, and you better believe Ciryl will want to run it back."

Watch moment Gane double eye poke on Aspinall leads to no contest

Video credit: TNT Sports

Bisping agreed, adding: "Final PPV, stick three title fights on there, what a way to go out."

Reflecting further on the truncated fight in the UAE, Bisping claimed UFC fans were "robbed".

"It was shaping up to be a tremendous fight," he said. "We all got robbed. Obviously, first and foremost, thoughts are with Tom. We all hope he makes a full recovery and he's going to be fine - fingers crossed, probably will.

"But we all got robbed here. Everyone in this arena. No one's leaving here happy."

Peet looked ahead to the second clash between Aspinall and Gane, suggesting the latter would go into it with better prospects.

"Tom won't start as a massive favourite again. He won't be as big a favourite as he was," he said.

"A lot of fans go away going, 'I've seen enough in those four-and-a-half minutes to make me think, well Tom's got to make changes, and Ciryl's got to do what he's just done.'"

Watch Tom Aspinall: Road to Undisputed on TNT Sports and discovery+

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