UFC London Recap: About Those Fights...
A new name, but the same great recap flavour as we work through the talking points from Saturday's action at The O2 Arena in London
Another Unfortunate Ending
For the second straight week, the main event ended abruptly as a result of an injury.
Just 15 seconds into the opening round, Tom Aspinall fell to the ground, clutching the outside of his right leg. Replays showed that after landing a kick to the thigh of Curtis Blaydes, something shifted as Aspinall planted his foot, causing him incredible distress and bringing the fight to a halt. Much like last weekend’s clash between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega, where the latter suffered a shoulder injury, everyone was just getting settled in for the pivotal heavyweight matchup when disaster struck.
This is a miserable situation all around, as no one ever wants a fight to end this way, and it creates far more questions than answers for both men and the division.
First and foremost, the hope is that Aspinall’s injury is something that can be dealt with in routine fashion and the Team Kaobon representative can make a healthy return to the Octagon whenever he’s ready. Secondly, you have to feel for Blaydes, who took a tough assignment against someone ranked lower than him in hostile territory, and didn’t get to put together the kind of victorious performance that would have elevated his standing in the division.
Lastly, it further clouds things in the already complicated heavyweight division, where the champion is still out following knee surgery, Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic are talked about as top contenders despite neither being active at the moment, and Ciryl Gane is slated to face Tai Tuivasa in a Top 5 matchup in Paris in September. A definitive win for either man Saturday could have helped clarify how things get booked going forward, but now it’s just more questions than answers.
This was a rough end to a long, drawn out night at The 02 in London.
Smart, Workmanlike Win for Hermansson
Jack Hermansson was originally scheduled to face Darren Till on Saturday, but “The Gorilla” was forced out with an injury and replaced by Chris Curtis, giving the co-main event a bit of an anticlimactic feel following big wins by Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann.
“The Joker” did what he needed to do to get back into the win column, working a stick-and-move approach that frustrated Curtis from the outset en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Hermansson was sharp throughout, varying his attacks, picking at Curtis’ lead leg and circling away from danger the entire fight, with the American resetting into the center looking annoyed throughout. While understandable, it was also a bad look because there was no way Hermansson was just going to fight you on your terms — it’s on you to make him engage, to keep him from doing what he’s doing, and Curtis was unable to do so with any real sustained success.
The loss itself doesn't diminish Curtis’ standing, as he took the bout on short notice and is still 3-1 in the UFC, but the way his frustrations spilled out after the fight were a bad look.
Oh Paddy the Baddy!
“The People’s Champ” Paddy Pimblett gave the people something more to cheer about on Saturday, securing a second-round submission win over Jordan Leavitt to keep his unbeaten run in the Octagon intact.
Pimblett did well to navigate grappling exchanges early in the first round, threatening with chokes and avoiding any tricky entanglements before taking the back and landing some offence of his own. It was more of the same to start the second, with Leavitt initiating grappling exchanges along the fence and Pimblett forced to defend. Midway through the round, “Paddy the Baddy” laced up a D’Arce choke setup, not to really attack the choke, but to force Leavitt to recognize it, which opened up an opportunity for a heavy knee that put the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate to the canvas.
From there, Pimblett trapped the arm and started attacking the neck from back mount, ultimately sinking in the arm and securing the finish. This was the best overall effort yet from the promising 27-year-old Scouser, as he dealt with some adversity and found a way to work not only to a victory, but another finish.
The time is coming when Pimblett will run out of favourable opponents the UFC can match him up with, but there is also still room for him to grow and develop, so it’s going to be interesting to see what comes next both in terms of the assignment and the approach from the Liverpool man.
Krylov Storms Through Gustafsson
If there were any question about whether Alexander Gustafsson had anything left in the tank, they were answered Saturday as Nikita Krylov blew through the three-time title challenger in just over a minute.
Krylov stung Gustafsson right out of the gate and never really let him back into things from there. The Swedish veteran looked similar to when he fought Fabricio Werdum — a little bewildered, a little unsure of what to do, and a little like a fella that had no real business being in there. That’s not to take anything away from Krylov, who did exactly what he needed to do and got “The Mauler” out of there in a flash, but this wasn’t the same Gustafsson that challenged for championship gold and that needs to be recognized.
We joke at times about “MMA retirements,” but it’s so difficult to consider walking away, take a long period off, and look to come back, and we saw that again here. Gustafsson has struggled with keeping himself engaged and active, and we saw Saturday that his days as an active competitor might be over.
Good Golly Ms. Molly
After a sluggish start to the day’s events, Molly McCann finally gave The 02 something to roar about, securing her second straight stoppage win in London with a first-round finish of Hannah Goldy.
“Meatball” came out patiently, wisely picking her spots and avoiding prolonged stretches of being clinched up with Goldy, landing well on the break and working from space. Midway through the bout, McCann landed a step-in right hand that caught Goldy flush and backed her into the fence, and from there, the Liverpool native unleashed. She hit the same spinning elbow that put Luana Carolina out last time and unloaded from there, forcing Herb Dean to stop the fight and sending the crowd into hysterics.
This was the perfect follow-up to her March victory and the kind of effort that should position her for another showcase opportunity next time out. The key for the UFC is to continue matchmaking her properly going forward — keep getting her in there with fighters of this level, where you can keep building on this efforts, rather than trying to turn her into a contender, hustle her in there with someone far too skilled, and killing this enjoyable run dead.
Smart, Tactical Win for Oezdemir
Volkan Oezdemir collected his first win in a couple years in Saturday’s main card opener, avoiding any dangerous spots with Paul Craig on the canvas to collect the unanimous decision victory.
The former title challenger stuffed all 15 takedown attempts and swiftly extricated himself from any entanglements, bashing the Scotsman with clean, high-percentage shots throughout. While Craig tried desperately to grapple, pulling Oezdemir into mount several times, he just doesn’t have the control on the ground against these top-tier light heavyweights to keep them on the canvas with him.
Oezdemir approached it perfectly — landing when he needed before getting out in a hurry, ultimately reaching a point where he didn’t even bother engaging with Craig whenever he hit the floor. He’d call him up, hit him a couple times, and call him back up once more; lather, rinse, repeat.
There wasn’t anything too exciting to it, but Oezdemir got the win he needed, and Craig’s shortcomings in the cage were put on full display.
* * * * *
Preliminary Card Thoughts
Getting bumped up six weeks didn’t cause Ludovit Klein any troubles, as the Slovakian lightweight went out and earned a clean sweep of the scorecards against Mason Jones on Saturday’s final preliminary card fight.
Klein, who was originally scheduled to fight at the end of August, out-hustled Jones throughout, knocking him down in the second with a right hand behind the ear while being the more active, more aggressive of the two from the jump. After catching a pair of losses in his final two featherweight appearances, he’s now earned consecutive victories since moving up in weight, showing improved conditioning, and the interesting striking arsenal that makes him someone to keep tabs on going forward.
For Jones, this is a tough loss that puts him in a precarious position, as the former Cage Warriors two-division champion is now 1-2 with one No Contest since matriculating to the UFC. He hasn’t faced any easy opponents, but one win in four starts is not a good look for the Welshman.
*
For the second time in four months, Marc Diakiese showcased his grappling acumen, using an early takedown or two to put Damir Hadzovic on the deck and keep him there for the duration, securing his second consecutive victory.
The Doncaster man dominated from start to finish, turning in the kind of smart, tactical effort that keeps him moving forward and makes him a more dangerous matchup to dissect going forward. After being pegged as a striker in the early days of his UFC tenure, he’s turned to his wrestling exclusively in his last two efforts, which means future opponents have to worry about a more well-rounded opponent down the road.
He showed explosiveness and the athleticism that highlighted his early efforts in the Octagon, but his maturity as well. This two-fight winning streak now puts him at 4-2 over his last six, which looks a great deal better than the 2-5 run that preceded this current quality stretch.
*
Nathaniel Wood had an outstanding featherweight debut on Saturday, ending a near two-year absence with a one-sided decision win over veteran Charles Rosa.
The 28-year-old Brit beat up Rosa’s left leg from the outset and continued to pick apart the Massachusetts native from start-to-finish, nearly truly encountering trouble and showing instantly that he fits well in the 145-pound ranks. While some will be critical of Wood not chasing down a finish after getting Rosa compromised — and he was compromised — I think this was far more about putting together a strong debut in a new weight category after nearly two years away, rather than pressing too hard to pick up a finish.
Wood didn’t look out of place opposite Rosa in terms of his size, which bodes well for this move. He was effective with his striking, didn’t get out-muscled at any point, and remains full of upside. He’s one of these guys that you forget is only 28 because he’s been in the UFC for a number of years and had success in Cage Warriors before that, but he’s just no entering his physical prime, and it will be interesting to see what he can build going forward.
*
Jonathan Pearce keeps putting up wins in the featherweight division.
After debuting at lightweight and catching a loss, “JSP” dropped to 145 and has rattled off four straight victories, collecting a third finish on Saturday by out-grappling and then mauling Makwan Amirkhani on the canvas. It was a very good effort from the DWCS grad and Fight Ready representative, who busted Amirkhani up with “Hapa Elbows” when the veteran looked to grapple out of the chute and unloaded with short shots on the ground in the second to get him out of there.
Amirkhani remains hit-or-miss from one appearance to the next, following his March submission win over Mike Grundy with a lacklustre effort here.
*
It wasn’t nearly as dominant as his first effort, but Muhammad Mokaev continued his unbeaten march on Saturday, grinding out a good win over LFA champ Charles Johnson, using his wrestling throughout.
We talked about it throughout the build to the fight that it wouldn’t be bad for Mokaev to collect some experience and cage time, and it felt like that’s what the 21-year-old was after here. He confidently closed the distance and dominated Johnson in the clinch and on the canvas, hitting a couple suplexes, but also showing some areas where he still needs to improve, which isn’t a bad thing.
He’s still the best prospect in the sport, but this just goes to show that there is a ton of room for him to grow and keep improving over the next few years before really moving into contention.
*
It wasn’t pretty, but Jai Herbert got the win that he needed on Saturday, rallying after dropping the first round to Kyle Nelson to collect the unanimous decision victory.
Entering with a 1-3 record in the Octagon and coming off a second-round knockout loss the last time the UFC was in London, Herbert looked a little hesitant to start and got out-muscled in the first, with Nelson landing some solid elbows in the clinch. But over the next two frames, the former Cage Warriors man was a little more active, a little more aggressive, and did well to control positions and grind out the win.
Herbert had a tough introduction to the UFC and hasn’t been nearly as successful as many would have anticipated given his success under the Cage Warriors shingle. But he’s back in the win column and now won two of three, which should secure his position for the time being, and hopefully he doesn’t get thrown in there with anyone too gnarly next time out.
*
Victoria Leonardo collected her first UFC victory in London, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Mandy Bohm in a largely uninteresting fight between two athletes with limited skills and low ceilings in the UFC.
Leonardo, who landed in the UFC after a dominant DWCS win over Australian prospect Chelsea Hackett, was thrown in with Manon Fiorot and Melissa Gatto in her first two outings, and did reasonably well in this step-back pairing on Saturday. She’s very stiff in her efforts, but brings a bunch of grit, and it was enough to carry the day against Bohm, who is now 0-2 in the Octagon.
*
Nicolas Dalby made things harder for himself than they needed to be, but he still managed to get the job done against Claudio Silva in Saturday’s opener.
The Danish veteran got controlled on the canvas throughout the first and opening half of the second, but once he was able to reverse position, he went on the offensive against the tiring Silva. He unloaded in the second and had some success in the third, but gave the London-based Brazilian a way back into the fight by being overly aggressive on the feet. Silva logged another takedown or two, but couldn’t muster much offence, leading to Dalby collecting the unanimous decision win.
Dalby has been around forever and is a perfect middle-tier welterweight to have around for fights like this and the occasional bout against an emerging name. He’s a capable hand and showed that Saturday.