Tom Aspinall wins first round TKO of Marcin Tybura at UFC London after Molly McCann suffers devastating defeat to Julija Stoliarenko
- Tom Aspinall saved the day at UFC London after crowds were stunned by Molly McCann’s defeat
- Heavyweight relaunched its assault on the top of the division and outlined its plan to claim the belt
- He wants to face the winner of Ciryl Gane vs Sergei Spivak and then the winner of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic
Advertisement
Tom Aspinall relaunched his assault on the UFC heavyweight title with a sensational first-round TKO of Marcin Tybura.
The O2 Arena was treated to a brief – one minute and thirteen seconds – but sweet breakdown of the Polish star and Aspinall looked like a future champion in every way.
He charged out and showed the kind of athleticism his giant frame shouldn’t allow, dodging everything in his path and landing clean, technically clean shots at whatever target he chooses.
The 30-year-old then flashed a punch straight through the pipe – flooring Tybura before plunging on him and landing heavy artillery, forcing the referee to mercifully intervene.
He sprinted to jump on top of the cage, overflowing with joy not only at his remarkable victory, but also at banishing the demons that have tortured him since he suffered a crippling knee injury in the same arena last year.
Tom Aspinall knocked out Marcin Tybura before outlining his plan to claim the UFC heavyweight title
The British star landed a peach of a punch in the middle and followed it up with heavy ground and pound
Aspinall jumped on top of the cage and basked in the glory of the most impressive performance of his career
Aspinall took just over a minute to demolish the No. 10 ranked heavyweight in the world and looked sensational
The division has been boosted by the return of Jon Jones and although the American teased he would retire after his clash with Stipe Miocic in October, Aspinall called him out.
He outlined his plan to claim the belt, grabbed Michael Bisping’s mic in the cage and bellowed, “I’m different now, I’m going all in!”
“That seemed like an easy fight, but he’s won seven of his last eight – he’s a very good person and respect him for everything. Give me that microphone. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’m going to Paris for Gane vs Spivak. I’ll beat the winner and then I’ll beat Jon Jones!’
Who’d bet he wouldn’t? Looking ridiculous, Aspinall took home one of three $50,000 bonuses for the 15,000 fans in attendance.
His swing is brilliant as a former sparring partner to Tyson Fury and the ground game is there to match, having been trained in Brazilian ji-jitsu by his father from an early age.
No one is going to enjoy taking on Aspinall, but he’s going to be undeniable on this kind of form.
Unfortunately, his success couldn’t be repeated in the co-main event, where Molly McCann endured a night of hell. She spoke this week about mourning her latest defeat, a first-round defeat to Erin Blanchfield.
And this one will be doubly hard to get over as the loss comes the same way, another first round submission.
Aspinall connected with almost anything he threw at Tybura and his opponent was never really in the fight
He outlined his plan to face Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic after another fight against Ciryl Gane or Sergei Spivak