For nearly the entirety of UFC London, the local fans had been given plenty to cheer about. That came to a very unfortunate end in the heavyweight main event as Tom Aspinall suffered a knee injury that ended his fight with Curtis Blaydes in just mere moments.
Aspinall stayed true to his word, coming forward and throwing punches and kicks at Blaydes. Blaydes was happy to meet him on that level, landing some heavy right hands of his own in the brief but thrilling exchanges.
Aspinall then threw a heavy leg kick and stepped backward before clutching at his knee and collapsing to the floor. The fight was over immediately, just 15 seconds after it began.
Blaydes was named the victor by TKO, though he was not happy with how the fight played out
“It’s almost like we didn’t even fight,” Blaydes said after the win. “I wanted to come here and prove a statement. Aspinall is legit. … I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry, man. … We never really got an opportunity for either of us to showcase our skills. He’s got stuff, I’ve got stuff. I wanted to see who’s got the better stuff.”
This was the second consecutive UFC main event to end in injury after Brian Ortega suffered a shoulder injury against Yair Rodriguez in their July 16 clash.
KVSP