Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall the highlight for UFC London main event on July 23
The main event for the UFC’s planned return to London on July 23 is scheduled to be heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall. Multiple sources familiar with the promotion’s plans revealed the bout to MMA Fighting, stating that verbal arrangements had been reached. The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani was the first to disclose that the fight was being considered.
After an amazing win against Alexander Volkov in London in March, this is Aspinall’s second consecutive main event at home in the United Kingdom.
Since joining the UFC, Aspinall has a perfect 5-0 record, all five fights concluding in a knockout or submission. He’ll now face his toughest challenge to date, a perennial heavyweight contender.
Meanwhile, Blaydes goes into enemy territory in search of his third straight victory after defeating Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Chris Daukaus in back-to-back battles. Blaydes boasts 6-1 in his last seven, with a knockout defeat to Derrick Lewis in 2021 being the only blemish on his record.
Blaydes, who has a wrestling pedigree and is considered one of the toughest outs at heavyweight, will aim to add Aspinall to his CV when they meet in July.
Upcoming fights to look forward to
There will be plenty of top UFC action in the coming weeks and months as the world’s greatest MMA fighters prepare for battle. In the main UFC 270 event, Francis Ngannou defeated Ciryl Gane to retain his heavyweight championship. At UFC 271, Israel Adesanya overcame Robert Whittaker to reclaim his UFC middleweight championship.
In mid-March, the UFC returned to London with a thriller, with Tom Aspinall defeating Alexander Volkov and Paddy Pimblett also winning. UFC 274 takes place this weekend, and we’re still waiting to hear about Conor McGregor’s comeback to the Octagon.
Here is the whole schedule for all forthcoming UFC bouts…
UFC 274 – May 7, 2022 (Footprint Center, Arizona)
- Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje
- Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza
- Ferguson vs. Michael Chandler
- Ovince Saint Preux vs. Mauricio Rua
- Joe Lauzon vs. Donald Cerrone
UFC Fight Night 206 – May 21, 2022 (UFC Apex, Las Vegas)
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Michel Pereira
- Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira
- Park Jun-yong vs. Eryk Anders
UFC Fight Night 207 – June 4, 2022 (UFC Apex, Las Vegas)
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Alexander Volkov
- Poliana Botelho vs. Karine Silva
- Dan Ige vs. Movsar Evloev
UFC 275 – June 11, 2022 (Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore)
- Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka
- Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos
- Jacob Malkoun vs. Brendan Allen
- Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Zhang Weili
UFC Fight Night 208 – June 18, 2022 (Moody Center, Austin)
- Josh Emmett vs. Calvin Kattar
- Julian Marquez vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Deron Winn vs. Phil Hawes
UFC Fight Night 209 – June 25, 2022 (TBC)
- Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Jinh Yu Frey
- Josh Parisian vs. Alan Baudot
- Tim Elliott vs. Amir Albazi
UFC 276 – July 2, 2022 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
- Jessica Eye vs. Casey O’Neill
- Miesha Tate vs. Lauren Murphy
- Dricus du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
UFC Fight Night 210 – July 9, 2022 (TBC)
- Ronnie Lawrence vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov
- Antonina Shevchenko vs. Cortney Casey
- Nina Nunes vs. Cynthia Calvillo
UFC Fight Night 211 – July 16, 2022 (TBC)
- Askar Askarov vs. Alex Perez
- Herbert Burns vs. Khusein Askhabov
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Jung Da Un
UFC Fight Night 212 – July 23, 2022 (The O2 Arena, London)
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall
- Darren Till vs. Jack Hermansson
- Muhammad Mokaev vs. Charles Johnson
UFC 277 – July 30, 2022 (TBC)
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Derrick Lewis