UFC Fight Night London was superb! The knockouts were explosive and the decisions decisive. The curse of the main card continues while new stars prove their worth. RDX selected the best performances which are showcased below.
The Main Event: Curtis Blaydes Vs Tom Aspinall
Tom Aspinall verses Curtis Blaydes ended abruptly with the main card curse carrying on. During the first round both fighters showed serious aggression and momentum against each other. But before the fight could even pick up pace it was halted after a leg kick Tom delivered to the thigh of Blaydes wouldn’t let Aspinall continue. Tom seemed to have suffered a knee ligament injury. We can only pray and hope that it heals fast and he returns to fighting form soon. An early and unfortunate end to what seemed to be a very exciting match up.
Lightweight: Paddy Pimblett Vs Jordan Leavitt
An exceptional win for Upcoming Superstar Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett in what was an active and well deserved victory over “The Monkey King” Jordan Leavitt. Round 1 saw Paddy make an explosive start but faced resistance from Jordan who made a takedown attempt. However, this was turned around swiftly with Paddy attempting a guillotine that didn’t stick. Paddy stayed on top when the bell rang for the end of Round 1.
Round 2 saw the Baddy dominate and force out a tight rear-naked choke. In the Post-Fight Interview Paddy made an emotional dedication to two of his friends:
“I woke up on Friday morning at 4 A.M. to a message that one of my friends back home had killed himself… This was five hours before my weigh-in. So Ricky, lad, that’s for you. There’s a stigma in this world that men can’t talk.”
“Listen, if you’re a man and you’ve got weight on your shoulders, and you think the only way you can solve it is by killing yourself, please speak to someone. Speak to anyone… People would rather… I know I’d rather my mate cry on my shoulder, than go to his funeral next week! So please let’s get rid of this stigma! And men start talking!”
Light Heavyweight: Nikita Krylov Vs Alexander Gustafsson
Nikita Krylov snatched a decisive Performance Of The Night against Alexander Gustafsson. Alexander took big direct punches from Krylov and the durability he once had seemed a shadow of its former self. Alex was no match for the aggression and Krylov found an early finish in round 1.
Daniel Cormier had this to say:
“Gustafson is done. He needs to walk away, these shots are hard but he used to eat them. The chin is gone, walk away my friend. We all have expiration dates. One of the best to not have had a title.”
Despite that “The Mauler” Of the Heavyweight division, Three time Title Challenger, Four time UFC Fight of the Night winner Alexander Gustafsson is and will always be a Legend in Mixed Martial Arts World.
Women’s Flyweight: Molly McCann Vs Hannah Goldy
“Meatball” Molly McCann made lightning strike twice while displaying brilliant fight IQ with a skillful win against Hannah Goldy. Hannah didnt take kindly to the pressure at all though and gave Molly a tough time in the early moments of the match. But when Molly switched gears and applied serious forward momentum, Hannah had nowhere to retreat to.
After that Molly covered the gap by rocking Hannah with a right hook to make distance and execute another spinning back elbow. Molly will be taking home another Performance Of The Night to celebrate with her pal Paddy.
“I will not let you down! Have you ever seen lightning strike twice, well now you have! I’ve committed to my game,”
Flyweight: Muhammad Mokaev Vs Charles Johnson
The RDX pick however goes to Muhammad Mokaev, who smashed his opponent for an amazing win. He maintains his unbeaten 8-0 victory streak for his Manchester, Dagestani fans and maintains a fantastic concoction of both wrestling and brilliant stand up skill. Charles Johnson was no match for “The Punisher”.
Mokaev took the striking initiative and had Johnson reeling from the very start of the match. With multiple uppercuts, a flurry of blows and full body slams. When Mokaev found the opportunity to wrestle down or throw long range kicks against his opponent, he clearly dominated there too.
Mokaev was halted once during round 3 with a brilliant teep to the body by Johnson but was still revving to go. By the end of the third round Mokaev had Charles wrapped up in a suffocating takedown. Mokaev took the decision with an all round score of 30-27 from the judges.
RDXSports congratulates all of the gladiators, young and old in the sport. Willing to make the effort to stand up for mental health, self-respect and take active part in their communities. Our thoughts go out to all those that suffer from mental illness. Our best wishes to those who got injured. And our undying respect to our legends in the sport. Move, Improve and Evolve.
