Tom Aspinall has vowed to come back stronger than ever after suffering a horror knee injury at UFC London.
Aspinall was facing arguably the toughest test of his career when he was set to do battle with heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes in the main event at UFC London. The British star picked up a good win over Alexander Volkov in the promotion's last instalment of the hallmark event in the UK, and he was looking to push himself one step closer to an eventual title shot.
The fight began with Aspinall roared on by a raucous home crowd after a spectacular ring walk. Aspinall began by landing some good leg kicks in the early seconds of the opening round, but his all-action start was short lived. Aspinall received a few good shots back from Blaydes, but the Briton landed a kick to his rival's thigh before falling to the ground clutching his knee.
As it became clear he had suffered a serious injury, the referee called an immediate end to the contest with Aspinall writhing in agony on the ground while continuing to hold his knee. He lay on his back in the middle of the octagon with medical staff quick to attend to the heavyweight star and put his leg in a brace.
After being carried away in a stretcher, it became unclear how much this would slow the progress of Aspinall's career having made a remarkable surge prior to the TKO defeat. Despite his misfortune, Aspinall has remained in good spirits and issued a statement for the first time on social media, writing: " Last night wasn’t my night, my training camp in the build up to the fight has been brilliant.
"Sometimes these things happen; now is the time to recover, rebuild and come back stronger! Wanted to say a huge thank you to the UFC, the doctors and paramedics that looked after me. But, also to the fans! For all the messages you’ve sent and support you’ve given me, in the build up to the fight and after the freak injury.
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"You’re all amazing! Want to thank Curtis for being a true gentleman, it didn’t work out how we both wanted, but to come and see me after for a beer makes you a legend in my eyes. Finally, my team and my family. We all know this is elite sport, we live to fight another day!"
It remains unclear what could be next for Aspinall, but doctors will likely investigate the extent of the injury before assessing a potential comeback date for the British star. Also on the card, Paddy Pimblett was successful once again in his third professional UFC fight defeating Jordan Leavitt with a second round submission.
Molly McCann also picked up another first round KO victory to extend her undefeated streak. UFC legend Alexander Gustafsson was comprehensively defeated in the opening stanza earlier in the night.
