Tom Aspinall suffered a shock defeat as he injured his leg just seconds into his heavyweight fight against Curtis Blaydes in the main event of UFC London.
Aspinall, 29, had won five UFC fights all by finish heading into his main event clash against Blaydes. The Brit started the fight by landing some good leg kicks whilst Blaydes returned with some good shots of his own. After landing a kick on Aspinall's thigh, the Brit went down grasping his knee in pain and the fight was waved off.
Aspinall was immediately tended to by medical staff as he lay on his back in the middle of the cage. It is the second fight in as many months to be stopped in this manner after Aleksandar Rakic suffered a bad knee injury against former light-heavyweight world champion Blachowicz.
In the co-main event, Jack Hermansson frustrated short-notice replacement Chris Curtis over three rounds to win an uneventful decision. Curtis was filling in for Darren Till, who withdrew from the event due to injury. Fan favourite Paddy Pimblett rallied after a frustrating first round against Jordan Leavitt to pick up his third successive UFC win. Pimblett took the back of Leavitt in the second round and eventually sunk in a rear-naked choke to force his opponent to tap.
Paul Craig was unable to work his submission skills against Volkan Oezdemir as the Scot was out-struck three rounds, losing a one-sided decision to ‘No Time'. Molly McCann delivered a highlight-reel knockout against Hannah Goldy, hurting the American before dropping her with the exact same spinning elbows that earned her victory at UFC London three months ago.
What were your thoughts on Tom Aspinall's fight at UFC London? Let us know in the comments section below
On the preliminary card, flyweight prospect Muhammad Mokaev remained unbeaten with his sixth professional win against Charles Johnson, attempting 26 takedowns across three rounds in their fight. Jonathan Pearce picked up the only finish of the prelims as he elbowed his way to second round stoppage against Makwan Amirkhani.
Nathaniel Wood won his UFC featherweight debut by destroying the legs of Charles Rosa in a striking showcase, winning a one-sided decision after three rounds of non-stop action. Jai Herbert had a better return to The O2 arena after being knocked out against in March as he won a decision against Kyle Nelson. There were also decision wins for Victoria Leonardo, Ludovit Klein, Marc Diakiese, Nicholas Dalby on the prelims.
