Paddy and ‘Meatball’ demonstrate their potential
For the second week in a row, an early injury ended a stellar event that promised much. Unlike what happened between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega, where the fight was just beginning to take shape when Ortega suffered a shoulder injury, here Tom Aspinall hurt his knee on a kick just 15 seconds in and had to leave on a stretcher.
Curtis Blaydes won, but was one of the most disappointed on the night as that win does little to help his championship aspirations.
Those who continue to party are Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann, the promotion continues to offer them the stage to shine and they did it again.
There were few finishes on this occasion, but one of them was very painful when we saw Alexander Gustaffson go down in the first round. It may be, now yes, the end of a brilliant career at semi-complete weight.
The next European stop will be in Paris, with a card that is still under construction, but this is one of the highlights of the night at the O2 Arena.
Good test for Paddy Pimblett
Just three fights into UFC and the Liverpool native is establishing himself as one of the most popular fighters at lightweight. You may or may not like his character, the fact remains that he always catches the eye and inside the octagon he responded with his third finish.
Jordan Leavitt was not a stepping stone for his growth, on the contrary, it was a complicated clash, he was not an opponent who came out to exchange, but a high-level fighter who would seek to close the fight, take him to the floor and finish him.
As it was, Jordan wasted no time in trying for takedowns, but as it happened against Mexican Kazula Vargas in March, he imposed his size and strength advantage to take the back and close his relentless mataleón.
It’s early to put him up against a 155-pound qualifier, but he took another firm step up in class.
A sad farewell to Alexander Gustafsson
The nostalgia of the first war with Jon Jones for the semi-completeweight title raised hopes that the Swede’s return at 205 pounds was for the long haul, but Saturday’s knockout made it clear that at 35, he’s a long way from the competitiveness we knew him for.
Gustafsson had punishing fights in his championship bouts with Jones and Danier Cormier, but now Nikita Krylov touched him early in the bout and it took him a minute to finish the myth. A farewell in style looks a long way off for Gustafsson and the four-fight losing streak speaks for itself.
Molly McCann brought the spark
Few fighters have the appreciation of their fans like Molly, who is far from being one of the best at flyweight, but she feeds off the crowd. As she did in March, she came out to finish in front of an arena that chanted her name and didn’t skimp.
On an evening where most of the fights had gone to decision, she knocked out again with a spinning elbow, which didn’t instantly disconnect the opponent, but still unleashed the madness of the home fans.
Molly is a nightmare for the commission officials, who have to chase her down to leave her inside the cage while the result is announced and she basically took advantage of this second straight visit to London to enjoy it. It was worth it, as it’s not every day you get to fight at home.
