Nothing hinders momentum quite like injury. For British heavyweight Tom Aspinall, his run to the top had been set back by a full year when a knee injury ended his night early one year ago against Curtis Blaydes. On Saturday, however, Aspinall made his return, paired up with Marcin Tybura in the main event of UFC London.
It had been a rough night for Team Britain to that point. Danny Roberts, Davey Grant, Jai Herbert, and Molly McCann, just one fight prior, had all suffered defeats.
Aspinall ripped a kick to the body almost immediately after the fight got going, much to the delight of the English crowd. Aspinall went after Tybura then, who retreated and regrouped. Tybura wound up taking some wild swings, while Aspinall was light on his feet — and moments later, it was Tom Aspinall connecting with a stiff right hand that sat Tybura down! Aspinall piled on with ground strikes, battering Tybura as the Polish heavyweight covered up. That sent the ref in, and in less than half a round, Aspinall was back in the win column to the delight the local faithful.
EASY WORK for @AspinallMMA 👀
He gets the finish in the first round! #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/TtKd6uUR3f
— UFC (@ufc) July 22, 2023
Ranked #5 in the heavyweight division to start the night, Aspinall will likely climb another spot or two when the rankings update next week. Following the win, Aspinall said he wasn’t himself last year, and wasn’t going to say he was back — because healthy, he’s an even better fighter.
Aspinall then said he’d head to Paris for Ciryl Gane vs. Serghei Spivac. “I’m going to beat the winner, and then I’m going to beat Jon Jones,” he exclaimed.
Official Result: Tom Aspinall def. Marcin Tybura by TKO, Round 1, 1:13
