It seems that the month of July has
not been good for the UFC. One and then another event could not meet the
expectations of the UFC. Earlier we saw Brian Ortega's July 16 clash against
Yair Rodriguez go down with a shoulder injury and now tonight we see a highly
anticipated heavyweight matchup between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall that
ended in just 15 seconds in the first round.
UFC Fight Night 208: Blaydes vs.
Aspinall airs live from The O2 Arena in London, England on Saturday, July 2. In
Curtis Blaydes (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) defeated Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) by
injury TKO in the first round after Aspinall blew out his right knee just 15
seconds into the fight.
The two fighters begin exchanging
almost immediately. Aspinall lands three leg kicks in a row. And Aspinall goes
down in pain. The Blaydes stop fighting, and the fight is over. It is not
certain whether Aspinall injured his knee from the kick or when he stepped
back. But the fight was over. Blaydes is your winner. Terrible way to end a
card.
"This fight is like we never
got in the Octagon," Blaydes said after the win. "I wanted to come
out here to prove a point. Aspinall is legit. I don't even know what to say.
I'm sorry, man. We didn't really get exposure for either of us. I came here. and
wanted to see who had the better stuff."
In other bouts featured on the card,
Paddy Pimblett (18-3) takes on Jordan Levitt (10-1) at lightweight, Alexander
Gustafsson (18-7) takes on Nikita Krylov (27-9) at light heavyweight and Hannah
Goldy will be from (6 -2). She faces Molly McCann (12-4) in the women's
flyweight division. Also, Volkan Oezdemir (17-6) meets Paul Craig (16-4-1) at
light heavyweight.
UFC Fight Night 208 results include:
Curtis Blaydes def. Tom Aspinall via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 0:15
Jack Hermansson def. Chris Curtisvia unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Paddy Pimblett def. Jordan Leavitt
via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:46
Nikita Krylov def. Alexander
Gustafsson knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:07
Molly McCann def. Hannah Goldy via
TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:52
Volkan Oezdemir def. Paul Craig via
unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ludovit Klein def. Mason Jones via
unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marc Diakiese def. Damir Hadzovic
via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Nathaniel Wood def. Charles Rosa via
unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Jonathan Pearce def. Makwan
Amirkhani via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:10
Muhammad Mokaev def. Charles Johnson
via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jai Herbert def. Kyle Nelson via
unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Victoria Leonardo def. Mandy Bohm via
unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Nicolas Dalby def. Claudio Silva via
unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)