London, March 20: UFC London returns
to London in 2022 after a long wait. One would not have thought that UFC's
return to London after 3 years would be so spectacular.
As many battles came to an end and
the heroes of the hometown gave spectacular performances, the sellout event was
a success on all fronts. All nine finishers received a $ 50,000 Performance of
the Night bonus, and it was the highest-earning Fight Night in UFC history.
With an audience of 17,081, UFC
London 2022 was the single highest-earning sporting event in O2 history and
also the highest-earning Fight Night in UFC history.
The much-anticipated heavyweight
bout between No. 6 Alexander Volkov and No. 11 Tom Aspinall gave the London
crowd exactly what they wanted: a landslide victory over their underdog.
Tom Aspinall performed well at his
breakout moment, proving himself a legitimate UFC heavyweight title contender
in front of his home country at UFC London. The Spaniard did a brief job on
Alexander Volkov, over all aspects of the MMA on Saturday.
The Spaniard immediately took
control of the fight, reaching within Volkov's height and gaining advantage.
The British dropped the crisp boxing combination on their feet and voluntarily
lowered Volkov. A takedown in the second half of Round 1 set off a series of
arm-dropping attacks by Aspinall. The Manchester native finally got a right-arm
lock, which he received a slap through Volkov to save time in the opening
round.
Aspinall spoke with UFC observer
Michael Bisping in moments after raising his hand and challenging Tai Toivasa.
The callout is appropriate because Aspinall and Tuivasa have emerged as fresh
faces in the heavyweight elite.
"First of all, someone bought
me beer. Second, we drink beer not only in Australia but in the UK. Let's do
that. Brother, I'm ready for you. "
From the word go at the co-maIn
event, it was a big win for the hearts of the audience when Arnold Allen, the
No. 7 featherweight contender for his hometown, and the fans' favorite Dan
Hocker entered the octagon.
Allen quickly lowered a barrage of
punches, through which he stood incredibly and fired back. But another attack
by Allen spelled out the end, prompting the referee to jump in and stop the
fight.
After winning the first round of
TKO, Allen said, "My coach asked for a boat. I said I'm English, we don't
play wrestling! I know how much I hit. I know how much I hit. Be a good
striker. Dedicate this fight to my dead Thai master who is fighting cancer.
This is for you. "
Earlier in the preliminary card,
Mike Grundy, Sergei Pavlovich, Paul Craig and Muhammad Mokaev earned stoppage
wins in their respective bouts, while Jack Shore and Elise Reed claimed
decision wins.
UFC London 2022
Results
UFC LONDON MAIN
CARD
- Main Event – Heavyweight Bout: Tom Aspinall def. Alexander Volkov via submission: R1, 3.45
- Co-Main Event – Featherweight Bout: Arnold Allen def. Dan Hooker via TKO: R1, 2.33
- Lightweight Bout: Paddy Pimblett def. Kazula Vargas via submission: R1, 3:49
- Welterweight Bout: Gunnar Nelson def. Takashi Sato via unanimous decision (30-26×3)
- Women’s Flyweight Bout: Molly McCann def. Luana Carolina via KO: R3, 1.52
- Lightweight Bout: Ilia Topuria def. Jai Herbert via KO: R2, 1.07
UFC LONDON
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Featherweight Bout: Makwan Amirkhani def. Mike Grundy via submission: R1, 0.57
- Heavyweight Bout: Sergei Pavlovich def. Shamil Abdurakhimov via TKO: R1, 4.03
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Paul Craig def. Nikita Krylov via submission: R1, 3.57
- Bantamweight Bout: Jack Shore def. Timur Valiev via unanimous decision (29-28×2, 29-27)
- Women’s Strawweight: Cory McKenna def. Elise Reed via split decision: (27-30, 29-28×2)
- Flyweight Bout: Muhammad Mokaev def. Cody Durden via submission: R1, 0.58