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Thunderous return for Aspinall

ufc22 July 2023 22:33| © Backpage TXT
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Tom Aspinall made a thunderous return to UFC action when he blew away Marcin Tybura in the first round of their heavyweight main event at a Fight Night at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday night.

Fighting almost exactly a year after suffering a major knee injury in his last appearance in the Octagon, Aspinall made quick work of Tybura, with the key moment arriving just over a minute into the fight: the Englishman rocked his opponent with a clubbing straight right and followed him to the mat for a ground and pound, ultimately forcing a stoppage from the referee.

“This was a tough year for me,” said Aspinall, who moved to 13-3 in his career. “I wasn’t myself, this is a whole new version of me. I won’t say I’m back, I’m different. My body is different, my mind is different.”

Such an emphatic return will inevitably prompt calls for Aspinall to be considered a title contender to challenge current heavyweight king Jon Jones – and the 30-year-old has a clear plan in mind to achieve such a status.

“I’m going to be in the front row in Paris for Cyril Gane v Sergey Spivak [who will meet at the Accor Arena in early September], I’m going to beat the winner [to become the top contender] and then I’m gonna beat Jon Jones.”

STOLIARENKO STUNS MCCANN

The main card also featured a surprise submission loss for home hero Molly McCann, who succumbed to an armbar from Julija Stoliarenko in the first round of their women’s flyweight co-main event; Paul Craig stopped Andre Muniz in the second round of their middleweight match; Fares Ziam outpointed Jai Herbert in a lightweight clash; Lerone Murphy edged Joshua Culibao in a featherweight fight; and the bantamweight opener saw Daniel Marcos claim a split decision win over Davey Grant.

Next weekend brings UFC 291 from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, headlined by a rematch between high-class lightweights Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT: ASPINALL V TYBURA - MAIN CARD RESULTS

- Main event: Heavyweight: Tom Aspinall def. Marcin Tybura via TKO (punches), R1, 1:13

- Women’s flyweight: Julija Stoliarenko def. Molly McCann via submission (armbar), R1, 1:55

- Featherweight: Nathaniel Wood def. Andre Fili via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Middleweight: Paul Craig def. Andre Muniz via TKO (elbows), R2, 4:40

- Lightweight: Fares Ziam def. Jai Herbert via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 30-27), R3, 5:00

- Featherweight: Lerone Murphy def. Joshua Culibao via unanimous decision (30-26 30-26 30-27), R3, 5:00

- Bantamweight: Daniel Marcos def. Davey Grant via split decision (28-29 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00

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