Over the weekend, we had a clash of two heavyweight contenders headline the card in what resulted in a series of unfortunate events – not Harry Potter, but a fight ending due to injury.
There were many exciting moments throughout this entire card, but let’s highlight below the main event between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall.
UFC Heavyweight Main Event Bout
Entering fight night, I was honestly quite shocked with how the UFC odds sat. Tom Aspinall was the -160 favorite and Curtis Blaydes the valuable +140 underdog at your top-rated sportsbooks.
I chose to stay away from this fight because Tom Aspinall is a resilient heavyweight fighter and I am always hesitant to go against Blaydes. However, this fight had an outcome every fight fan did not want to see – a fight ending due to injury.
Aspinall began the round with a step-in right knee. Blaydes countered with two heavy right punches. Aspinall landed a piercing leg kick and he’s bouncing back! He’s on the ground now, and it looks as if he blew out his knee!
You can see he is in a lot of pain. It looks brutal. Immediately, the doctor called off the fight.
Curtis Blaydes defeated Tom Aspinall via T/KO (injury), Round 1, 00:15
It’s always frustrating watching a resilient fighter lose due to injury. And since Aspinall is so resilient, once he is healed and 100%, they will run back this fight…hopefully.
There were many great finishes on this UFC Fight Night London Main Card. One in particular that deserves a highlight is Paddy Pimblett and his second-round submission (rear-naked choke) over Jordan Leavitt.
Paddy was all over Leavitt; hit counters were sharp, and he was able to drag him down to the ground when needed. Especially in the second round; Paddy was able to secure the back of Leavitt for a clean RNC.
Paddy Pimblett also shared a very touching message in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping about men’s mental health and the stigma behind it.
Check out below for the full card results.
Up next on the UFC schedule, Amanda Nunes is getting another chance to avenge her UFC bantamweight title from the now defending champ, Juliana Peña, at UFC 277.
In this rematch, you will find Amanda Nunes to be the juiced -285 favorite and Peña +245. Do you think there is value behind the current champ?
See what our expert handicappers have to say weekly in our weekly UFC picks content. Best of luck!
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.