England’s best hope for UFC heavyweight gold returns to action on home soil on July 22.
One day short of a year since he tore knee ligaments against Curtis Blaydes at The O2 Arena, Tom Aspinall will make his return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC London on Saturday, July 22.
Aspinall will take on Polish contender Marcin Tybura in a five-round heavyweight clash at The O2. The long-rumored bout was officially confirmed via the UFC’s official social media channels, with a cast of UK stars also set to provide additional interest for the fans in London.
Aspinall’s injury TKO defeat to Blaydes last July was his first loss n more than six years, and his first inside the Octagon. Prior to his injury, the Manchester heavyweight had torn through the UFC’s heavyweight ranks, with victories over Jake Collier, Alan Baudot, Andrei Arlovski, Sergey Spivak, and Alexander Volkov as he surged into the heavyweight top five.
Now fully recovered and rehabbed after his injury, Aspinall will take on No. 10-ranked Tybura, a 31-fight veteran who has won seven of his last eight trips to the Octagon.
Tybura’s victories include Spivak, Maxim Grishin, Ben Rothwell, Greg Hardy, Walt Harris, Alexander Romanov and Blagoy Ivanov.
Also set for action is Liverpool flyweight Molly McCann, who takes on Julija Stoliarenko, while bantamweight contenders Ketlen Vieira and Pannie Kianzad are set to throw down.
Other UK fighters understood to be featuring on the fight card for July 22 include Lerone Murphy, Danny Roberts, Marc Diakiese, Mick Parkin, Jai Herbert, and Chris Duncan.