Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Aspinall

Once again this weekend, the final act to hit the Octagon will be a pair of heavyweights, as Curtis Blaydes makes the trip to “Jolly Old England” to squares off with streaking Brit Tom Aspinall in a critical main event pairing.

The 31-year-old Blaydes is one of the most accomplished fighters in the division since arriving on the big stage in the spring of 2016, posting a 12-3 record with one no contest verdict. His first two setbacks each came against current champ Francis Ngannou, the first coming in his promotional debut, and since their second encounter, the Elevation Fight Team member has gone 6-1 with a second-round knockout loss to heavy hitter and perennial contender Derrick Lewis standing as the only blemish.

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Aspinall returns to London looking to build on his perfect record inside the Octagon. The 29-year-old is 5-0 in the UFC with five stoppage victories and four Performance of the Night bonuses, the last of which came in March when he submitted Alexander Volkov in less than four minutes to cap the previous event at The O2.

This is a matchup between the top two active contenders in the heavyweight division, and will position the winner as a legitimate championship threat. Blaydes has continued to develop his hands into dangerous accompaniments to his top-shelf wrestling, while Aspinall has cruised through his first five outings largely untested, showcasing quality boxing and a slick submission game that makes him a different type of threat than the division has seen of late.

UFC LONDON FREE FIGHTS: Curtis Blaydes vs Chris Daukaus | Tom Aspinall vs Alexander Volkov

These fellas know what’s at stake and will be looking to make sure they’re included in any top-end matchups that get booked later this year, so expect both to be locked in from the word “Go” and a statement to be made, one way or another.

Jack Hermansson vs Chris Curtis 

Liverpool lightweight Paddy Pimblett looks to make it three straight since joining the UFC when he makes the walk in London again this weekend in a clash with Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) graduate Jordan Leavitt.

Pimblett touched down in the UFC last fall amidst much fanfare, thrilling fans with a first-round knockout win over Luigi Vendramini in his promotional debut. Back in March, his walkout blew the roof off The O2 before he marched into the Octagon, navigated a bit of danger against Kazula Vargas, and ultimately put the Mexican veteran to sleep to secure his second straight first-round finish.

Athlete Profiles: Paddy Pimblett | Jordan Leavitt

A member of the DWCS Class of 2020, Leavitt collected a 22-second slam knockout of veteran Matt Wiman in his first UFC appearance before dropping a decision to ascending lightweight Claudio Puelles in his sophomore showing. Since then, the Las Vegas native has earned back-to-back wins over Matt Sayles and Trey Ogden, and carries the kind of awkward standup and dangerous grappling skills that make him a threat to leave the London faithful disheartened on Saturday evening.

This is a perfect matchup for each of these fighters at this point in their UFC careers — Pimblett needs a step up in competition, while Leavitt benefits from being in there with a bigger name.

Nikita Krylov vs Alexander Gustafsson 

Fan favorite Molly McCann looks to build on her blistering knockout win in March this weekend as she welcomes Hannah Goldy to England and the Octagon.

“Meatball” brought the partisan crowd at The O2 to their feet earlier this year, connecting on a beautiful spinning back elbow that instantly ended her fight with Luana Carolina and made her the clubhouse leader in the Knockout of the Year race. The 32-year-old from Liverpool has now earned consecutive victories and won five of seven since dropping her promotional debut to Gillian Robertson, showing clear improvements over her last two outings specifically.

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Goldy was called up to the UFC less than two months after failing to secure a contract on the second season of Dana White’s Contender Series, losing a unanimous decision to Miranda Granger in her debut. After suffering a similar fate against Diana Belbita two years later in her sophomore effort, the Florida-based fighter broke into the win column last time out, collecting a first-round armbar win over Emily Whitmire last September.

Business is always bustling in the flyweight division, so both women will be gunning to maintain their winning ways in this one. Will McCann thrill the fans again or will Goldy pull off the upset and make an arena full of supporters upset on Saturday evening?

Paul Craig vs Volkan Oezdemir

A late addition to this weekend’s fight card, Welsh prospect Mason Jones makes his return to the cage opposite Ludovit Klein.

A two-division champion under the Cage Warriors banner, Jones arrived in the UFC with a 10-0 mark, but stumbled out of the gate, suffering a loss to Mike Davis in a back-and-forth battle in his debut before an accidental eye poke prematurely ended his sophomore effort against Alan Patrick. He finally secured his first win with a hard-earned victory over David Onama last October, and now looks to build on it here against Klein.

Athlete Profiles: Mason Jones | Ludovit Klein

Initially slated to face Ignacio Bahamondes in August at UFC 277, the DWCS grad was forced to withdraw, prompting Klein’s return to be pushed ahead to this weekend. The 27-year-old Slovak snapped a two-fight skid in his lightweight debut last time out, landing on the happy side of a split decision verdict in a fight with Devonte Smith at UFC 272, and aims to pick up the biggest win of his career this weekend by toppling Jones on Saturday.

This is an entertaining matchup between young, hungry talents in the talent-rich lightweight division, and a welcome addition to the quality lineup set to hit the Octagon in London.

Marc Diakiese vs Damir Hadzovic 

Stalwarts of the lightweight division Marc Diakiese and Damir Hadzovic man the final preliminary card slot on Saturday’s fight card.

Diakiese returns to London looking to build on his unanimous decision win over Viacheslav Borschev earlier this year. The 29-year-old “Bonecrusher” hasn’t quite lived up to the lofty expectations that accompanied his 3-0 start in the UFC, but he may have turned a corner with his victory over “Slava Klaus” in Columbus.

Like Diakiese, Hadzovic looks to turn a single victory into a modest two-fight winning streak this weekend, having earned a unanimous decision win over Yancy Medeiros in his most recent appearance last June. “The Bosnian Bomber” is tougher than a $2 steak, never shies away from a scrap, and earned a victory in his lone trip to London prior to this weekend in what was his penultimate fight before getting called up to the UFC.

This should be a frenetic affair between two sturdy talents in the 155-pound weight class looking to really kick off a string of positive results. We should get a little bit of everything from these two, setting the tone for the main card.

Nathaniel Wood vs Charles Rosa 

British standout Nathaniel Wood returns for the first time in nearly two years, moving up a division to face off with Charles Rosa in his featherweight debut.

“The Prospect” last appeared at UFC 254, landing on the wrong side of the results in a catchweight engagement with Casey Kenney in Abu Dhabi. The 28-year-old former Cage Warriors champion is 17-5 overall and heads up a division looking to recapture some of the buzz he carried upon first arriving in the UFC four years ago.

An eight-year Octagon veteran, Rosa’s pattern of alternating losses and wins in his UFC career came to an end last time out as he dropped a second straight decision to TJ Brown in January. The 35-year-old Massachusetts native is a perennial tough out with quality grappling and stockpiles of grit, making him the perfect first test at featherweight for the returning Wood.

Can the Englishman get back into the win column and begin his tenure in the 145-pound weight class with a victory or will Rosa spoil his divisional debut by snapping his two-fight skid?

Makwan Amirkhani vs Jonathan Pearce 

Featherweight mainstay Makwan Amirkhani aims to build off his impressive outing last time the UFC touched down in England this weekend, but streaking DWCS grad Jonathan Pearce has other ideas.

Amirkhani entered his bout with Mike Grundy in March on a three-fight slide, having been knocked out seconds into the second round of his clash with Lerone Murphy at UFC 267. But “Mr. Finland” showed why he’s a constant threat, lacing up an anaconda choke and putting the British wrestler to sleep in just 57 seconds, getting himself back into the win column and reminding everyone of the danger he presents when focused and engaged.

After getting thrown to the wolves in his promotional debut at lightweight against Joe Lauzon, in Boston no less, Pearce has gone 3-0 since returning to the featherweight ranks. Following stoppage wins over Kai Kamaka III and Omar Morales, “JSP” edged out Christian Rodriguez on the cards in February, pushing his record to 12-4 overall and giving him eight wins in his last nine outings.

Amirkhani has had brilliant moments and befuddling moments inside the Octagon, while Pearce has been pretty consistent over his last three starts. If everyone shows up in top form this weekend, this could be a scramble-filled sleeper in the Fight of the Night race.

Muhammad Mokaev vs Charles Johnson

British veteran Jai Herbert looks to erase the memory of his last appearance in London with a return to The O2 Arena on Saturday, where he faces off with Canadian Kyle Nelson.

It’s been a rough go for Herbert since debuting in the UFC three summers back. He suffered consecutive stoppages losses to Francisco Trinaldo and Renato Moicano before collecting a first-round TKO victory over Khama Worthy last October to break into the win column for the first time. Back in March, “The Black Country Banger” started well, but got put to sleep by streaking talent Ilia Topuria, sending him into this one with a 1-3 mark inside the Octagon.

Nelson has struggled to the same record and in very similar fashion as Herbert, honestly, suffering a pair of stoppage losses before collecting a first-round finish to earn his initial UFC triumph, only to land on the wrong side of a stoppage result again the next time out. This is the 31-year-old’s first appearance since the fall of 2020, so it will be interesting to see how he handles competing in a hostile environment when he takes on Herbert this weekend.

Each man needs a win in a major way and, as such, they both should come out ready to leave every last ounce of themselves inside the Octagon on Saturday. Only one of them will garner the victory they both covet, and figuring out who that will be should be entertaining for all those watching this weekend.

Mandy Bohm vs Victoria Leonardo 

Flyweights seeking their first UFC win collide here as Mandy Bohm faces off with Victoria Leonardo in this preliminary card affair.

Following a couple different postponements, Bohm made her promotional debut last September, landing on the wrong side of the results in a clash with Ariane Lipski. The German competitor has been readying for her sophomore appearance at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and is angling to get back to the form that produced seven straight wins ahead of her first foray into the UFC cage last fall.

Leonardo impressed with a second-round stoppage win over Chelsea Hackett on Season 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series, but the 32-year-old has struggled in her first two trips into the Octagon. She suffered a stoppage loss to Manon Fiorot in their joint debuts in January 2021 on Fight Island, and was unable to continue after two rounds in her UFC 265 clash with Melissa Gatto last August after suffering an arm injury.

Claudio Silva vs Nicolas Dalby 

Claudio Silva and Nicolas Dalby square off in this meeting of veteran welterweight positioned early on Saturday’s prelims.

Silva, who has resided in London since 2007, won his first five UFC appearances, including a split decision nod over impending title challenger Leon Edwards, to move to 14-1 for his career through the summer of 2019. Since then, however, “Hannibal” has suffered consecutive unanimous decision defeats in matchups against James Krause and Court McGee.

The 37-year-old Dalby authored an outstanding comeback story by working his way back to the UFC in the fall of 2019, securing a unanimous decision win over Alex Oliveira at home in Copenhagen to cap the fairytale return. He beat Daniel Rodriguez two fights later, but suffered a unanimous decision loss to Tim Means last time out, dropping his record to 19-4-1 with two no contest verdicts overall.