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
Hermansson vs Curtis – Round 3
Again Curtis presses forward, but Hermansson shows off some good head movement to avoid the American’s shots.
Curtis tries to work the body of Hermansson, but the Norwegian is keeping just enough range that the punches aren’t quite connecting cleanly.
Some stabbing front kicks to the body by Hermansson, who is exhibiting good stamina to maintain his accuracy of striking and slickness of head movement while moving backwards and laterally.
We have a brief pause in the action as Curtis is caught with an accidental low blow, but the fight is soon back under way.
Hermansson lands a smacking kick to the torso of Curtis, who only increases his forward pressure. He troubles Hermansson slightly with a left hook but is unable to follow up effectively.
More body kicks from Hermansson, who is trying and failing to slow down Curtis.
Curtis flips off Hermansson at the final buzzer, before mocking the Norwegian by running on the spot. Say what you will, but Hermansson was under pressure throughout and fought well on the back foot.
UFC London LIVE
Hermansson vs Curtis – Round 2
Curtis with lots of forward pressure, forcing Hermansson to constantly move and counter-punch. Curtis actually gets a bit frustrated with Hermansson for not engaging enough.
Now Hermansson comes forward and hurts Curtis with a left hook! Curtis is stunned, and he shells up against the fence.
Hermansson’s follow-up punches are blocked by Curtis’ guard, but the Norwegian slices through that guard with elbows!
Referee Marc Goddard tells Curtis to fight back, which the American does while also trying to move away.
He does well to regather himself and survive the round.
UFC London LIVE
UFC London LIVE
UFC London LIVE
Hermansson vs Curtis – Round 1
Lots of feinting early on. Southpaw Curtis catches Hermansson with a couple of punches as the “Joker” comes forward.
Hermansson tries an oblique kick to the thigh of Curtis, who then blocks a head kick and misses with his own left hook.
Hermansson with a lunging knee, which Curtis just about manages to block. Same again. Now Hermansson throws a body kick.
He kicks low twice and takes Curtis off balance both times. At last Hermansson shoots for a single-leg takedown, but Curtis does well to prevent it, keeping his balance and then shrugging off the Norwegian.
UFC London LIVE
As we’ve mentioned, Curtis is stepping in for Darren Till, who always walks out to “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond.
Guess what song Curtis is walking out to? That’s right! “Evil” by Interpol.
Just kidding. It’s “Sweet Caroline” of course.
UFC London LIVE
Hermansson is out to bounce back from a decision defeat by Sean Strickland earlier this spring.
The Swedish-born Norwegian, a submission specialist, has been up and down across his recent bouts, while Curtis is on an eight-fight winning streak (3-0 in the UFC).
Sean Strickland outstrikes Jack Hermansson in UFC Fight Night main event
The American continued his rise up the middleweight rankings but apologised for a poor performance
UFC London LIVE
Here’s a recap of all of tonight’s results so far:
Main card
Paddy Pimblett def. Jordan Leavitt via second-round submission (rear naked choke, 2:46)
Nikita Krylov def. Alexander Gustafsson via first-round KO (punches, 1:07)
Molly McCann def. Hannah Goldy via first-round TKO (elbow and punches, 3:53)
Volkan Oezdemir def. Paul Craig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Prelims
L’udovit Klein def. Mason Jones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marc Diakiese def. Damir Hadzovic via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Nathaniel Wood def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decisin (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Jonathan Pearce def. Makwan Amirkhani via second-round TKO (punches, 4:10)
Muhammad Mokaev def. Charles Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jai Herbert def. Kyle Nelson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Victoria Leonardo def. Mandy Bohm via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Nicolas Dalby def. Claudio Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments