Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall will have his eyes pealed for a pivotal clash in his division at UFC 321.

Alexander Volkov (38-11 MMA, 12-5 UFC) takes on Jailton Almeida (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in a potential No. 1 contender bout Oct. 25 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Aspinall holds a quick submission finish over Volkov in their March 2022 headliner, but Volkov has since won four of his past five – most recently a controversial decision loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 310. Despite that setback, Aspinall is siding with the Russian.

"That's how I see it, and I think that's pretty obvious," Aspinall told Bloody Elbow of Volkov vs. Almeida being No. 1 contender. "I actually thought that Volkov won the fight against Gane, to be honest. I think Volkov is in really good form right now. I do think Almeida is good. I've not seen enough of Almeida's game to say how good he actually is. At this point, it's hard to say, but I would favor Volkov in that one."

Aspinall competes on the same night when he makes his first heavyweight title defense against former interim champion Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the UFC 321 main event.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Tom Aspinall: Alexander Volkov beats Jailton Almeida at UFC 321

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