Saturday night was a landmark evening in the history of UK mixed martial arts, as UFC London’s return to the calendar after a three-year absence produced a stellar event at the O2 Arena.
As well as being a hugely entertaining card, UFC London was a largely successful night for British fighters. In the main event, Tom Aspinall submitted veteran Alexander Volkov in the first round for a statement heavyweight victory. In the co-main event, Arnold Allen blasted past fan favourite Dan Hooker in the first round after a brief moment of adversity.
Those results followed rising star Paddy Pimblett’s own first-round win, in which the Liverpudlian recovered from an early knockdown to submit Rodrigo Vargas. His fellow Scouser Molly McCann similarly sent the O2 into raptures with her victory over Luana Carolina, which was achieved via third-round KO – achieved with a spinning back elbow, a knockout of the year contender.
On the prelims, meanwhile, Scotland’s Paul Craig joined the first-round finish club by submitting Nikita Krylov.
Here’s how The Independent would book each of those five Britons’ next bouts.
Tom Aspinall vs Tai Tuivasa
After easing to the biggest win of his career, Aspinall (12-2) wasted little time in calling out Tuivasa (14-3), who himself is coming off of his most significant victory yet – a first-round knockout of Derrick Lewis.
Aspinall entered UFC London ranked 11th at heavyweight, with Tuivasa third, so on the surface it may seem like an optimistic match-up for the Briton. However, Aspinall just took out No 6, and Tuivasa is likely one or two wins away from a title shot.
The title picture is complicated enough at the moment, with champion Francis Ngannou out injured and not likely to fight until 2022 – and potentially not returning to the UFC at all, due to an ongoing contract dispute. As such, an interim title bout is likely, though which fighters would compete in such a contest is up in the air.
Neither Wigan's Aspinall nor Australian Tuivasa is quite there, though both are seen as potential future champions – especially Aspinall. So, why not have them face off next to determine a genuine new contender from the new generation of heavyweights?
Arnold Allen vs Calvin Kattar
Like Aspinall, Allen (18-1) had a clear callout at UFC London after picking up a landmark win.
Allen, No 7 at featherweight before Saturday, expressed his desire to face a top-five opponent, something of which he is undoubtedly deserving, given his 11-fight win streak and destruction of Hooker.
The Ipswich fighter acknowledged ahead of UFC London that the title is tied up right now, with Alexander Volkanovski set to defend it against Chan Sung Jung – a replacement for former champion Max Holloway, who will likely receive a shot later this year.
Second-ranked Brian Ortega and third Yair Rodriguez are rumoured to be going head-to-head soon, meaning Allen vs Kattar (23-5) makes sense. It would also be a certified war.
Paddy Pimblett vs Ilia Topuria
This is where it gets interesting. In terms of narrative and rankings, this one makes sense; Pimblett and Topuria's Twitter spat last year gave way to a bust-up at the fighter hotel ahead of UFC London, where both lightweights picked up wins.
Topuria survived an early knockdown to knock out Jai Herbert in the second round, before calling out "that blonde b***h" Pimblett, who also recovered from an early knockdown to get a finish. The Liverpudlian, however, dismissed Topuria's callout.
But fans would love to see a clash between the two, neither of whom is ranked (though Topuria was in the top 15 at featherweight before moving up here). Pimblett himself said he would not take on a ranked opponent unless the UFC were to add a few more "zeroes" to his wage, and Topuria qualifies. The Georgian is a dangerous foe for Pimblett, who has eaten a huge punch in each of his two UFC fights and was knocked down by Vargas, and so there is a risk that he could derail the Liverpudlian when the UFC might prefer to keep building "Paddy The Baddy".
The truth is, however, most UFC-level fighters can be threats to Pimblett, based on the evidence provided by his performances in the promotion so far; there are no easy fights. So, take advantage of the narrative here and make Pimblett vs Topuria at another UK event this year. Looking at the reaction Pimblett received in London, he's ready to headline a Fight Night. Anfield can wait – for now...
Molly McCann vs Erin Blanchfield
McCann was in fine form prior to the pandemic, before losing once in 2020 and once in 2021 to put her under a little pressure at UFC London.
The Scouser rose to the challenge, however, comfortably outfighting Carolina and stopping the Brazilian with a spinning back elbow in Round 3 on Saturday, to halt her two-bout skid. Some are calling the finish the greatest in the history of women's UFC fights, and it sets up McCann for a step-up in competition next time out.
A fight against Erin Blanchfield, who is ranked 15th at women's flyweight, is an option. The American is 8-1 in her professional career and 2-0 in the UFC. She would represent a stern test for McCann (12-4), but also an opportunity that the Briton has earned.
Paul Craig vs Anthony Smith
Things start to get very exciting now for Craig, who is unbeaten in his last six – a draw against former light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua the only anomaly in a run that has seen the Scot secure five stoppage victories.
Not for the first time, Craig (16-4-1) survived some serious adversity to get the win as he submitted Krylov on Saturday, with that result surely seeing 11th-ranked Craig leapfrog his ninth-ranked opponent.
And so, Craig can look further up the top 10 for his next challenge, and the nature of his win streak means he has a claim to face a top-five foe. Anthony Smith (36-16) was the name on "Bearjew"'s tongue at UFC London, and that seems a sensible fight to make.
Former title challenger Smith has won his last three and is of the calibre that Craig deserves to test himself against next.
