Curtis Blaydes made it three wins in a row in the octagon when he secured a win over Tom Aspinall in the main event of UFC Fight Night 208 in London, England on Sunday morning.
The American won via TKO due to a doctor stoppage just 15 seconds into the first round after Aspinall sustained a knee injury in a heavyweight bout which took place at The O2 Arena.
Blaydes opened the fight well landing several punches, but Aspinall, who was fighting his home country, countered with a leg kick before he recoiled to the floor - clutching his right knee and the fight ended.
"I wish the injury hadn't happened, we didn't get a chance to showcase our skills," Blaydes said. "I wanted to come here and make a statement. I know a win over him would have meant a title shot and prove that I'm legit."
The rest of the main card saw Jack Hermansson secure a convincing win over Chris Curtis in the co-headliner. The Swedish fighter claimed a unanimous decision win by scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in a middleweight bout. Nikita Krylov defeated Alexander Gustafsson via knockout in the first round of a light heavyweight bout. This win earned Krylov the Performance of the Night award.
While English fighter Molly McCann defeated Hannah Goldy with a first-round TKO in the women’s flyweight bout - setting set the fans inside the arena into a frenzy. Paddy Pimblett defeated Jordan Leavitt through submission (rear-naked choke) in a lightweight out. The Englishman remains undefeated in the UFC having now registered three consecutive wins in the American MMA promotion.
The stage is set for UFC 277 which will take place on Sunday, July 30 with the event being headlined by a women's bantamweight championship rematch between current champion Julianna Pena and former title holder Amanda Nunes who is the current women's featherweight champion. An interim flyweight championship bout between former champion Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France is expected to take place at UFC 277.
UFC Fight Night: Blaydes v Aspinall – Main card results
- Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes def. Tom Aspinall via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 0:15
- Middleweight: Jack Hermansson def. Chris Curtis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Lightweight: Paddy Pimblett def. Jordan Leavitt via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:46
- Light Heavyweight: Nikita Krylov def. Alexander Gustafsson knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:07
- Women's Flyweight: Molly McCann def. Hannah Goldy via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:52
- Light Heavyweight: Volkan Oezdemir def. Paul Craig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)