12 months after his Curtis Blaydes matchup was cruelly cut short by a serious knee injury, Tom Aspinall again announced himself as a serious player in the heavyweight division after making short work of perennial contender Marcin Tybura in the UFC London card on July 22. Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic is set for November, and the 30-year-old has his sights set on securing a title shot soon.
Efficiency the buzzword for returning Aspinall
R1, 1:13 – Tom Aspinall [5] bt. Marcin Tybura [10] via TKO (strikes)
- With that fast finish, Tom Aspinall now has the most stoppage wins across the UFC’s heavyweight division (6) since 2020, made his promotional debut that July and needed just 45 seconds to blast past Jake Collier
- “I’m gonna go to Paris and sit front row for Ciryl Gane vs. Serghei Spivac… beat the winner, then beat Jon Jones,” he says in post-fight interview after insisting he’s a new fighter after freak-but-serious knee injury last July
- “Jon Jones, keep an eye on him because he’s coming… that was ridiculous. He’s not far away [from a title shot],” Michael Bisping says on commentary as Hall of Famer calls for Sergei Pavlovich [1] matchup in title eliminator, winner to face Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight strap in 2024
- Jones has frequently hinted at possibility of retiring, should he successfully defend the belt against former two-time champion Miocic in UFC 295 headliner on Nov. 11 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden
So, any psychological doubts about *that* leg were quickly dispelled as Aspinall whipped a high head kick early, looked loose on his feet, connected on a front kick and an equilibrium-jolting elbow signalled the beginning of the end for Tybura.
Aspinall let fly with a one-two punch combo, the straight right hand landing clean on the chin as his speed and power were far too much to counter – not least by a flat-footed heavyweight – and the London crowd roared in anticipation.
What did they say?
UFC lightweight-turned-commentator Paul Felder: “It was as impressive as he could’ve been, coming off the injury, he didn’t get touched. Tybura landed zero strikes – I’ve just had that confirmed – Tom did exactly what he said he would, ran through a top heavyweight and destroyed him.”
Aspinall’s cageside interview: “It was a really tough year for me. Guys, I wasn’t myself last year but this is a whole new version. I’m not back – I’m different – my mind, body, I am going all the way. It seemed like an easy fight but Tybura is a great guy, it was really tough to fight him – he’s a friend – big respect to him.”
Okay, so there’s some hyperbole from Felder – Tybura landed four of his 15 attempted strikes (26%) per UFCstats – but you can understand where he’s coming from, considering this main event was all over so fast. Most of Aspinall’s fights are.
73 seconds and referee Marc Goddard had to pull his compatriot off the Pole, such was the onslaught raining down on a seven-year UFC veteran never finished in that manner. A fitting statement on his return, to the scene of the crime as he called it.
Craig’s critics eat humble pie, for now
The announcement of Paul Craig’s move down to middleweight was met with surprise. Why was the perennial light-heavyweight contender opting to do this now, when older fighters dropping down in weight is historically an unsuccessful task?
It looked dicey in parts but the Scotsman silenced those critics by scoring an impressive second-round TKO win over ranked opposition in Andre Muniz (R2, 4:40 via elbows), after overcoming early adversity and wading into danger upon occasion.
Muniz was noticeably the more powerful of the two, but Craig was more competitive than most expected during their stand-up exchanges.
They engaged in some grappling up against the fence, referee Daniel Movahedi scolding the Brazilian as he led with his head and lost the position as punishment.
Muniz worked on a neck crank as he was taken down himself shortly afterwards, before Craig’s beautiful reversal into side control and a choke attempt saw him edge into a knee-on-belly position, where he was now in full mount.
Able to land some big ground-and-pound strikes, it was the 35-year-old’s slicing elbows which proved pivotal as Muniz covered up and didn’t offer much resistance.
It was over, just like that, and Bear Jew made sure to single out his coaches’ gameplan for praise post-fight as well as revealing they had purposefully worked on improving his striking – a justified criticism – considerably over the past six months.
Now ranked #13 at 185lbs after that result, he’s another respected name at middleweight – a division lacking credible depth and new contenders at present.
Wood-Murphy bubbling up nicely
An all-English clash at featherweight between Nathaniel Wood (20-5) and Lerone Murphy (13-0-1) remains in play, after both prevailed during contrasting decision wins over Andre Fili and Joshua Culibao on the main card.
They were originally paired together for the UFC 286 main card back in mid-March, before Wood withdrew after sustaining a freak leg injury.
The 32-year-old scored a split decision win over Gabriel Santos in his place and remains unbeaten with the promotion since debuting at UFC 242 in Sept. 2019.
Murphy scored a third-round body kick knockdown against Culibao, and threatened a pair of submissions deep in a dominant final stanza as he searched for a finish to cap an assertive all-round display. Wood by contrast, worked harder to prevail.
Andre Fili has flaws but didn’t earn his all-action mantra by accident, catching Wood with a counter left in the first 30 seconds to suddenly drop the home favourite.
Just as the commentators were waxing lyrical about Fili’s ability to control distance, using his reach advantage and moving quickly on the feet, Wood landed a well-placed right before swarming as he was stunned.
Leg kicks from both made for an intriguing x-factor. Fili almost finished him midway through the second, after landing some big knees and a submission attempt, while the third was predictably more tentative but Wood’s striking efficiency proved key.
Matchmaking isn’t always an exact science but judging by fightmatrix’s rankings – which take into account every promotion – Wood (#25) vs. Murphy (#35) isn’t a mismatch of sorts. Both want to crack the UFC’s top #15 by next year, so why not?
Prelim, other main card results from July 22 card
Main
Women’s Flyweight: Julija Stoliarenko bt. Molly McCann via R1 submission (armbar)
Lightweight: Fares Ziam bt. Jai Herbert via UD (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
Bantamweight: Daniel Marcos bt. Davey Grant via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Prelims
Welterweight: Jonny Parsons bt. Danny Roberts via R2 TKO (punches)
Lightweight: Joel Álvarez bt. Marc Diakiese via R2 submission (brabo choke)
Heavyweight: Mick Parkin bt. Jamal Pogues via UD (30-27 x 3)
Middleweight: Makhmud Muradov bt. Bryan Barberena via UD (30-27 x 3)
Women’s Bantamweight: Ketlen Vieira bt. Pannie Kianzad via UD (29-28 x 3)
Lightweight: Chris Duncan bt. Yanal Ashmouz via UD (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Women’s Strawweight: Bruna Brasil bt. Shauna Bannon via UD (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
Flyweight: Jafel Filho bt. Daniel Barez via R1 submission (arm-triangle choke)
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via TV broadcast or hyperlinked
Mo and Sports 