Tom Aspinall picked up the biggest win of his career by submitting veteran Alexander Volkov in the main event of UFC London.
Heavyweight prospect Aspinall was visibly the quicker of the two fighters as he landed some good leg kicks before taking Volkov down inatthe beginning of the fight. Volkov got back to his feet and was targeting the body of Aspinall with his kicks.
The Brit capitalised on his wrestling advantage by tripping Volkov to the canvas again. He started to land some heavy ground and pound before Volkov was able to defend himself. Aspinall then latched on to a straight armbar to force a tap from the Russian.
Aspinall, who will likely break in the top five of the heavyweight division with the win, called out fan favourite knockout artist Tai Tuivasa for his next fight.
In the co-main event, Arnold Allen pushed himself one fight closer to a featherweight title shot by stopping Dan Hooker in the first round. It was a back and forth contest for the two and a half minutes it lasted, with Hooker knocking down Allen and hurting him several times.
But Allen would get the better of the New Zealander by forcing him to cover up on the backfoot whilst unloading a barrage of punches to force the standing stoppage.
Elsewhere on the card, Paddy Pimblett tapped out Kazula Vargas in the first round to pick up his second win in the promotion. His teammate Molly McCann scored a knockout of the year contender by rendering Luana Carolina unconscious with a spinning elbow.
What were your thoughts on Tom Aspinall's performance at UFC London? Let us know in the comments section below
Ilia Topuria also bagged a devastating knockout, finishing Jai Herbert on the main card opening bout. Russian heavyweights Sergei Pavlovich and Shamil Abdurakhimov were unsurprisingly booed by the London crowd during their fight.
Paul Craig showed why he is one of the best submission specialists at 205-pounds, surviving an early scare to tap out Nikita Krylov with a triangle choke. Jack Shore knocked down Timur Valiev three times on the way to extending his unbeaten run to 16 fights, picking up his fifth UFC win in the process.
Cory McKenna was the first British fighter to suffer defeat on the card as she was on the wrong end of a split decision to American strawweight Elise Reed. Flyweight prospect Muhammad Mokaev started off the card in style, dropping Cody Durden with a flying knee and latching onto a guillotine choke to win his UFC debut in under 60 seconds.
