The Pro Take: Tom Aspinall Gets the Biggest Win of his Career Over Volkov

Tom Aspinall UFC London
Tom Aspinall, UFC London ceremonial Weigh-In Credit: Jay Anderson/Cageside Press

Dedicated UK fans who normally stay up super late for a UFC Fight Night or Pay Per View were treated to a fight card in their own backyard with the promotion’s return to London, England — capped by a heavyweight match-up between Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall.

With London not having a fight card since 2019, the UFC needed a big main event top the show. And frankly, little else is bigger than a heavyweight main event with two top contenders in the division.

Tom Aspinall continues to get the big names to stand against him in the octagon and a win over Alexander Volkov could be the fight to propel him to the top of the division — getting him closer to a title shot. That we’re even talking about title shots for Aspinall, given his relative youth in the weight class, says a lot.

Alexander Volkov has been so close to a title shot but has come up short in key match-ups. If Volkov could stop the rise of the young juggernaut Aspinall and steal his momentum, talk could continue with Volkov potentially being in the running for an interim title shot while Francis Ngannou heals up from surgery and sorts out his contract situation.

In the end, it was the British fighter’s night. It didn’t take long for Tom Aspinall to get the victory inside the O2 Arena. Once Aspinall got the fight to the ground with a double leg take down, he got to half guard and locked in a submission, putting the rest of the heavyweight division on notice as his stock surly rose as a top contender for the heavyweight title.

PROS GIVE THEIR TAKE

Here is how the pros reacted to the UFC’s return to London and the main event between Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall.