LONDON – Tom Aspinall’s home showing was spoiled in devastating fashion.
Curtis Blaydes (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) beat Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) by injury TKO in the first round when Aspinall blew out his right knee just 15 seconds into the fight. The heavyweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 208 main event at The O2 in London.
The injury appeared to happen after Aspinall threw a right kick to Blaydes’ thigh. He then stepped back and immediately tumbled backward and hit the canvas. A confused Blaydes stepped back and the fight was waved off by referee Herb Dean (via Twitter).
Absolute heartbreak. 💔
Tom Aspinall's return to London ends in seconds after an unfortunate injury. #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/T8ZO7JvVpf
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) July 23, 2022
Aspinall laid on the mat for minutes until a knee brace was placed on his leg and he was helped out of the octagon. In his post-fight interview, Blaydes expressed his disappointment on how he was looking forward to the test of facing a legit Aspinall.
The TKO loss snapped Aspinall’s eight-fight winning streak and handed him his first octagon setback. Blaydes made it three straight wins.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 208 results include:
- Curtis Blaydes def. Tom Aspinall via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 0:15
- Jack Hermansson def. Chris Curtis via 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)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.
