Headlining a UFC card in the O2 Arena for the second time this year, Tom Aspinall took on American, Curtis Blaydes. These two top 10 ranked heavyweights were potentially fighting for a title shot at Francis Ngannou and it was Blaydes who got his hand raised due to Aspinall being unable to continue due to injury just 15 seconds into the fight.
Off the back of blockbuster performances from England’s Nathaniel Wood, Molly McCann and Paddy Pimblett, Aspinall had a huge weight on his shoulders to perform. Unfortunately for the Brit, as well as the fans, the fight was over before it started.
The comeback is always stronger than the setback 🙏
Get well soon Tom Aspinall – we're all with you ♥️#UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/tZG5H4649c
— #UFCLondon on BT Sport (@btsportufc) July 23, 2022
The UFC London Main Event
There isn’t much to break down for the main event. It was over in just seconds. It was shaping up to be a good fight, with both men game and exchanging early on. The injury occured after Aspinall landed a big rear leg kick and stepped back into his stance and instantly fell down, writhing in pain. Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout.
man. this sucks pic.twitter.com/IylblsNtcF
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) July 23, 2022
What’s next for Blaydes?
There is one of three things for UFC London’s main event winner. Firstly, a title shot at Francis Ngannou when the champion is healthy and ready to go. He’s now riding a three-fight winning run. Taking on Ngannou would be a trilogy, with Blaydes having lost twice previously.
The second option is a title eliminator against the winner of the UFC Paris main event between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa. Gane is the former interim heavyweight champion but came up very short when he challenged for the undisputed belt in January, suffering his first career loss. Tuivasa rebounded from three straight losses in 2019 to enjoy a run of five straight knockouts, of which three have earned him performance of the night bonuses. The biggest of these wins came last time out against Derrick Lewis.
Blaydes vs. the winner of the UFC Paris main event would bring the next title challenger to light and would guarantee an entertaining fight due to the mixture of styles.
The third option is of course the rematch between Blaydes and Aspinall. We don’t know what the injury is as of yet and it may mean that Aspinall is out for a long period of time. Whether Blaydes will want to wait that long is unknown. All will be revealed within the next week or so.
What we do know, the heavyweight division is back and has plenty of there is plenty of competitive fights on offer.
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