UFC London LIVE results: Paddy Pimblett wins before Tom Aspinall injury against Curtis Blaydes
Re-live updates and see all results from the O2 Arena, where a host of British fighters competed
Paddy Pimblett was once again the star of UFC London, four months after the MMA promotion’s last trip to the English capital, submitting Jordan Leavitt in the second round before fellow Briton Tom Aspinall suffered a knee injury just seconds into the main event.
Pimblett, who entered the O2 Arena with a 2-0 record in the UFC after two first-round stoppage wins, was largely outwrestled by Leavitt in the first round of their fight on Saturday night, but the Liverpudlian kept his composure to set up the finish in Round 2. Pimblett, 27, dropped Leavitt with a knee in the clinch as both lightweights grappled along the fence, and “Paddy The Baddy” quickly took the American’s back before locking in a rear naked choke. Leavitt soon tapped out, sending the O2 into raptures in a similar fashion to how the crowd reacted to Pimblett’s submission of Rodrigo Vargas in March.
Later in the night, the highly-anticipated heavyweight main event between Wigan’s Aspinall and American Curtis Blaydes ended after just 15 seconds, when the Briton’s knee gave way after he had thrown a leg kick. Aspinall collapsed to the canvas, and referee Herb Dean waved off the fight, before Blaydes was declared the winner by TKO once a wincing Aspinall, 29, had finally gotten back to his feet with his leg in a brace. Re-live updates and see all results from UFC London, below.
UFC London LIVE
Dalby vs Sillva – Round 3
Some technical difficulties on this end... but Dalby has spent the best part of Round 3 on top, in guard, before he eventually chooses to stand and let Silva back up now.
Silva is able to secure his own takedown, however, and he looks certain to end the round on top... but Dalby scrambles to his feet just before the buzzer.
UFC London LIVE
Dalby vs Sillva – Round 2
Dalby lands an elbow, but Silva is able to stand. Dalby fends off a takedown attempt to the sound of cheers! Silva tries for another, this time against the fence, but he’s denied.
Now Dalby has Silva backed up against the fence and he lands a few easy punches! He holds Silva and lands a series of knees and elbows, each of which is greeted by a roar from the crowd!
A terrific turnaround from Dalby in that round.
UFC London LIVE
Dalby vs Sillva – Round 2
Boos accompanied the sound of the buzzer at the end of that round, but the fans cheers the start of Round 2, hoping for Dalby to get a foothold in this fight.
He lands a hook, before the welterweights trade leg kicks. Silva rolls under a punch and shoots a double-leg takedown, which he completes with ease. More boos.
Dalby does a decent job at trying to stand against the fence, but Silva outmaneouvres him and takes the back... He’s working on a choke... but Dalby is able to twist and finds himself on top, in full guard!
UFC London LIVE
Dalby vs Sillva – Round 1
Silva shoots for a takedown early, pushing Dalby back to the fence. Dalby is able to fend off a trip attempt but his leg is held. Silva hangs onto it for a LONG time, as the pair traverse the ring. Eventually Silva completes the takedown!
He’s quickly into full guard and gets off a slicing elbow. He controls Dalby for some time before landing a hammer fist. The crowd is already restless, though, and “woo”s ring out around the O2 Arena.
Dalby is able to scoot to the fence, where he turns while attempting not to give up his back. Silva moves into half-guard and fires off a few punches. He’s trying to transition into side control... but runs out of time as the round ends.
UFC London LIVE
We start with a welterweight bout between Nicolas Dalby and Claudio Silva!
UFC London LIVE
We’re 10 minutes away from the first prelim fight of the night!
We’ll be providing round-by-round updates from then onwards.
UFC London LIVE
In other Paddy Pimblett-related news...
The Liverpudlian hit out at ‘fat-shamers’ on Friday after making weight for his fight against Jordan Leavitt, telling his critics to ‘kiss my a**’ before bearing his backside while on stage.
More on that here:
Paddy Pimblett bears backside and slams ‘fat-shamers’ at UFC London weigh-ins
The Liverpudlian lightweight is known to gain a significant amount of weight between fights
UFC London LIVE
Paddy Pimblett has said he plans to ‘take off’ Jordan Leavitt’s ‘head’ when the lightweights clash at UFC London on Saturday.
Pimblett was the star of the show at UFC London in March, and the Liverpudlian will feature on this weekend’s card at the O2 Arena, too.
The 27-year-old, who is 2-0 in the UFC with two stoppage wins, faces American Leavitt (10-1), who dismissed Pimblett’s abilities at Wednesday’s media day.
“He’s been talking all sorts of s***, lad,” Pimblett (18-3) said in response. “He’s an absolute crab, he’s an absolute idiot. He can’t throw a punch to save his life. He’s trying to outweird me, but no one’s weirder than me.
“My nan’s dead, and she’d finish him. I’m gonna come out and take his head off, I’m coming to take his chin home with me.”
More from Pimblett here:
Paddy Pimblett ramps up trash talk with ‘absolute idiot’ Jordan Leavitt
Pimblett was the star of the show at UFC London in March, and the Liverpudlian fan favourite will feature on Saturday’s card at the O2 Arena, too
UFC London LIVE
UFC London cards, as it turns out, are a bit like buses in the English capital. You wait ages for one to come along, then two arrive at once.
In 2020, the UFC’s annual visit to London was a matter of days away when the card was cancelled – one of the first events to fall as Covid-19 crippled the sporting calendar. Britain’s own Leon Edwards was set to headline the card at the O2 Arena, taking on former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. The fight fell through, along with the rest of the event, and British fans’ one-year wait for a UFC event eventually grew into a three-year longing.
Yet absence has a significant effect on the heart, its atriums and ventricles, and when the UFC ultimately returned to London this March, 17,081 fans and 24 mixed martial artists embraced the evening in equally full-blooded fashion. Together they made for a night that will go down in the folklore of British MMA, and one that captivated followers of the sport worldwide.
Can tonight’s card match it? That is a big ask. We explore the question here:
Pressure is on as British fighters seek to replicate magical UFC London event
After a three-year wait for a UFC event in Britain, this Saturday sees the staging of a second card in London in four months
UFC London LIVE
The Independent spoke to Tom Aspinall’s coach Colin Heron this week in an exclusive interview, in which the Liverpudlian broke down UFC London’s main event, which pits his fighter against Curtis Blaydes.
Here’s an excerpt: “The British wrestling squad normally comes to my gym every Friday, and they’ve got the Commonwealth Games coming up. So, we had four or five of them in, and let me just say this: Not one of them out-wrestled Tom, he won the wrestling with all of them. He would take them down, but if they put him in a bad position, he’d out-scramble them. They’d be exhausted by the time he got to his feet, and he’d be back to his feet in seconds.”
Read the full interview here:
Tom Aspinall’s coach Colin Heron breaks down Curtis Blaydes challenge at UFC London
Exclusive interview: Heron, who also trains UFC fan favourite Darren Till among numerous fighters, analyses where Saturday’s main event will be won and lost
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments