July 24, (THEWILL) – In Saturday’s late night UFC London main event from the O2 Arena in England, the heavyweight title fight between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall ended disastrously when Aspinall blew out his knee in the opening seconds of the first round, allowing Blaydes to win via technical knockout.
It was still early in the headliner, and both heavyweights, who started out strong, were still getting a feel of each other with the crowds expecting a proper heavyweight contest before it ended abruptly. Aspinall was just beginning to work on leg kicks after Blaydes landed two solid right hands, when one of the kicks struck Blaydes’ leg hard, and Aspinall immediately collapsed in agony as he moved back.
Aspinall immediately gripped his knee, and the referee had to intervene to call a timeout. The fight, which was the main event, had lasted all of 15 seconds in total. It was an awful way to cap off a UFC London night that was mostly underwhelming before the main card even started.
With a victory this weekend, Aspinall might have given himself a chance to contend for the title. He has dominated his opponents en route to a 5-0 UFC record heading into UFC London, but must now focus on his recovery from this injury and a return to the Octagon as soon as possible.
Blaydes admitted that he did not plan on winning at UFC London in this manner either and added: “It’s almost like we didn’t even fight.” Technically, “Razor” will have a TKO victory to his name for this effort, but he still needs more triumphs to get back to the top of the division.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
