UFC Fight Night Aspinall vs. Tybura Preview
This weeks UFC Fight Night offering comes from London, England, which is headlined by heavyweight sensation Tom Aspinall. English heavyweight Tom Aspinall was the hottest thing in the UFC last summer. Aspinall was on an eight-fight winning streak and seemed primed for a shot at the championship if he could get past Curtis Blaydes on July 12, 2022, in London, England. But that’s not how things went.
Aspinall suffered a freak knee injury 15 seconds into the fight and lost his opportunity for another seismic victory against a ranked contender. The heavyweight landscape has shifted mightily since his injury. Former champion Francis Ngannou left the UFC entirely, and Jon Jones is now the champion.
With another UFC Fight Night card set for London, Aspinall is hoping to headline the event with another victory. Here’s a look at the main card and other matchups on the card that will impact the UFC moving forward.
Meatball Molly Looking to Recapture Magic
The co-headliner to Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card is the battle of another British fighter, Molly McCann, in a women’s flyweight fight against Julija Stoliarenko, who is from Lithuania. Stoliarenko is a one-trick pony who tends to lean on armbars to finish opponents. Stoliarenko is 10-7-2 in her MMCA career and has lost four of her past five fights.
During Stoliarenko’s last fight, she was knocked out by Chelsea Chandler, who is a fringe prospect at best. McCann, much like Aspinall, collected two wins in England events last season, including consecutive knockouts of Hannah Goldy and Luana Carolina. However, McCann, who is 13-5-0 in her career, was quickly brought down to earth when she fought Erin Blanchfield last November.
Blanchfield, who is viewed as a contender for the title, dominated McCann on the ground for 3 minutes, 37 seconds before submitting her with a kimura in the first round. McCann was a major part of the previous UFC cards in London. Recapturing that magic will be difficult for McCann, who fought alongside friend Paddy Pimblett last summer, who also captured victories.
Nathaniel Wood in Search of Third Straight Win
Wood has won two straight fights and is hoping to avoid being pulled into a wild fight with Andrew Fili. Fili is 1-2-1 over his last four fights but has revealed a knack for catching unsuspecting fighters on their back heels. Fili has finished nine of his 22 career wins by knockout.
Wood has seen his last four fights go to a decision. When Wood broke into the UFC, he finished his first three victories with submissions but hasn’t had much luck ending fights early since. This will be an interesting featherweight matchup.
Paul Craig Never has a Dull Moment
Scottish fighter Paul Craig hasn’t made a history of putting on boring fights. Craig, who is making a move down to middleweight, has only had two of his 23 fights go to the scorecards. One of Craig’s best moments in the UFC was upsetting future champion Jamahal Hill by submission in June 2021.
Craig’s matchup with André Muniz will have more than a slight chance of fireworks. Muniz has finished 15 of his 23 victories during his MMA career by submission. Craig also prefers to be on the ground. When this fight hits the mats, the excitement should start.
Herbert Looks to Rehab his Image
Lightweight Jai Herbert was 10-1 when he arrived in the UFC in 2019. Things have mostly been disappointing for the English fighter since then. Herbert’s career record now sits at 12-4-1, but he has fought some difficult competition.
Jai Herbert rocked Illia Topuria, an undefeated fighter who appears primed for a title shot, before being viciously finished in the second round. Herbert was denied a two-fight winning streak when he was deducted a point due to multiple groin strikes in his last fight against Ludovit Klein. Herbert ultimately settled for a draw.
Herbert’s opponent, Frances Ziam, is another fighter who came into the UFC as a finisher and hasn’t displayed the same talent in the big show. Four of his five UFC fights have been to the scorecards, except when Ziam was submitted by Terrance McKinney in February 2022.
Preliminary Card also has some Explosive Matchups
Davey Grant looked like he was going to lose his last fight against Raphael Assuncao last March. Grant was deducted a point for grabbing the fence in the third round. However, Grant was able to record and pull off an inverted triangle and put Assuncao out cold with 17 seconds remaining in the fight.
Grant has now won two straight fights and has finished 13 of his 15 career victories. Grant will have an interesting bantamweight matchup against Daniel Marcos. Marcos is 14-0 in his career and has won eight fights by knockout.
Other fights on the card include:
- Danny Roberts vs. Jonny Parsons, welterweight
- Marc Diakiese vs. Joel Alvarez, lightweight
- Mick Parkin vs. Jamal Pogues, heavyweight
- Makhmud Muradov vs. Bryan Barberena, middleweight
- Ketlen Vieira vs. Pannie Kianzad, women’s bantamweight
- Chris Duncan vs. Yanal Asmouz, lightweight
- Shauna Bannon vs. Bruna Brasil, women’s strawweight
- Jafel Filho vs. Daniel Barez, flyweight
What to Expect from Aspinall and Tybura
Aspinall started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu at a young age and has displayed a knack for being on the ground as well as strong striking since he joined the UFC. If Aspinall is going to make a case for fighting his way back up the heavyweight ladder, he will need to make a statement against Marcin Tybura.
Tybura is a more plodding heavyweight than Aspinall. He excels at working in the clinch and isn’t afraid to make the fight ugly to try and grab a win. In Tybura’s last three fights, he has seen the fight go to the scorecards, including a 15-minute snoozefest against Blagoy Ivanov in February.
Before Aspinall’s loss to Blaydes, he had been obliterating his opponents. During Aspinall’s eight-fight winning streak, he finished all eight opponents. Aspinall won six of their eight fights during that streak by knockout. This will be a fun card with a lot of local fighters. Aspinall’s return will be a real highlight for British MMA.
