UFC London’s co-main event saw Luke Riley, a 12-0 featherweight prospect, get the star treatment early in his UFC career as he took on Michael Aswell.
Fighting at home, the Brit had acknowledged during Fight Week the trust the UFC had placed in him, giving him co-main event billing in just his second assignment with the promotion. Aswell, for his part, was 1-1 under the UFC banner and coming off a win over Lucas Almeida.
In the opening moments of the bout, Aswell rushed to the side of Riley to take center Octagon and pressure the Liverpool native. Riley started with a big shot to the body of Aswell in the pocket, which was returned by a quick right hook to the chin of Riley. Aswell, now controlling the pace, wrapped Luke Riley up along the cage and landed short shots. Once the two broke, they exchanged blazing hooks in the middle, both landing flush to the head. Michael Aswell clinched up again, but Luke Riley escaped quickly, landing a combination to the head and body of Aswell that got a significant reaction from the Texas Kid.
Continuing to trade, Riley seemingly entered the zone, landing back-to-back right hooks to flush the face of Aswell, taking center Octagon and putting Aswell on the back foot. Picking apart his opposition now, Luke Riley ended the round with a clean left hook as the horn sounded.
This time, the two met in the middle to start round two, Riley landing a disgusting combination finishing with a right hand to the body of Aswell, followed by a straight shot to the body, and then returning to the chin of Aswell with another hook. Michael Aswell clinched up to try to neutralize the pressuring Riley, but again the English striker was able to escape his opponent.
Finally getting a strong reaction out of the crowd, both featherweights continued connecting with ease inside the pocket. Aswell, finally finding some comfort in his hooks, got a read on Riley as round two started to wear on. Though as time came to a close, it was Luke Riley who landed a beautiful combination, working in a slapping body kick to put a stamp on the round.
Aswell, now likely down 2-0 to the undefeated Luke Riley, came out strong in the third, again swarming Riley as soon as the round began. Aswell was able to clinch up along the cage, landing some knees to the body of Riley, but the Englishman proved too tricky along the fence.
Riley continued to put in work on Michael Aswell on the feet, mixing up his strikes to both the head and body. Unable to get a hold of Riley and simply not quick enough to keep pace, Aswell was struggling to catch up with his opposition.
Leading the dance the rest of the way, Luke Riley fully took over the third round, cruising to a unanimous 30-27 decision victory.
Following another statement win, former Cage Warriors champion Luke Riley picked up his second victory in the big show, improving his undefeated record to 13-0. On the losing side, Michael Aswell dropped below .500 in the UFC at 1-2.
As Riley continues to grow in popularity, you can only imagine the rising star is on the brink of a ranked opponent in his next trip to the Octagon.
Official Result: Luke Riley def. Michael Aswell Jr. by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)
