British heavyweight Tom Aspinall made a triumphant return to MMA with a devastating first-round knockout of Marcin Tybura in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night at the O2 Arena, almost a year to the day after tearing his MCL.
Aspinall’s last visit to the octagon ended after just 15 seconds of his bout against Curtis Blaydes as his knee gave out, and he almost brought his comeback fight to a close at the same mark with a head kick that wobbled his Polish opponent.
The Manchester-born fighter remained calm, picking his shots carefully before landing a straight right hand that sat Tybura down, and Aspinall followed up with thunderous hammer fists to force the stoppage after one minute and 13 seconds.
"It’s been a really tough year for me," Aspinall said in his post-fight interview before outlining how he overcame his struggles. "My mind is different, my body is different, and I’m going all the way."
Fifth in the heavyweight rankings coming into the fight against the 10th-ranked Tybura, Aspinall then laid out his plan to capture the heavyweight title.
"I’m going to go to Paris, I’m going to be sat in the front row for Cyril Gane and Serghei Spivak, I’m going to beat the winner, and then I’m going to beat (reigning champion) Jon Jones," the 30-year-old said.
In the co-main event, Lithuania’s Julija Stoliarenko silenced the English crowd by submitting Molly McCann in their flyweight contest, locking in an armbar to force the popular Liverpudlian to tap out early in the first round.
On an evening of mixed fortunes for the British fighters, Scotland’s Paul Craig scored a superb TKO win over Brazilian Andre Muniz, while London-born featherweight Nathaniel Wood won a unanimous decision victory after a thrilling battle with Californian Andre Fili.
