A headliner has been confirmed for the UFC’s second trip across the pond of the year.
After the success of UFC 286 in March, the promotion quickly announced that it would be returning to London for a summer card. With British champion Leon Edwards unable to make the quick turnaround, the July 22 event will be a UFC Fight Night.
And on Wednesday, Dana White went live on social media to confirm that English heavyweight Tom Aspinall will return to competition in the night’s main event. The Manchester native will head back to his nation’s capital a year on from the devastating knee injury he suffered there.
Inside The O2 arena, the #5-ranked Aspinall will fight down the ladder against former M-1 Global champion Marcin Tybura, who currently occupies #10 in the divisional pecking order.
Locked in for #UFCLondon!! @AspinallMMA vs @MarcinTybura will headline July 22nd!
Get your tickets early 🎟️ https://t.co/LTfUFSdlp2 pic.twitter.com/Q3pF58zADl
— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2023
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With confirmation of Aspinall’s return, he’s joined a number of his compatriots on the upcoming UFC London card, including Molly McCann, Jai Herbert, Davey Grant, and Lerone Murphy.
For Tybura, the booking marks his first contest on English soil. The Polish 37-year-old previously made the trip in a work capacity to serve as backup for the London-held event last March.
Aspinall Targets Rebound, Tybura Looks For Third Straight Win
Having recovered from injury earlier this year, Aspinall (12-3) is set to bring to an end his year-long layoff on July 22. The Mancunian was sidelined after the second of his two London headliners in 2022 ended in disaster.
After a dream main event debut last March, when he submitted perennial contender Alexander Volkov, Aspinall’s surge to the top was brought to a sudden halt 15 seconds into his contest with Curtis Blaydes four months later courtesy of a torn MCL and damaged ACL.
He’ll now look to jump straight back into title contention when he makes his return against Tybura (24-7). The Polish heavyweight has gone 7-1 since 2020, with his only defeat in that period coming on the scorecards against Volkov. He’s bounced back with consecutive wins since his loss to the Russian, outpointing the previously undefeated Alexander Romanov and Blagoy Ivanov.
With this addition, the current fights expected to take place at UFC London on July 22 are as follows:
- Tom Aspinall vs. Marcin Tybura (heavyweight main event)
- Molly McCann vs. Julija Stoliarenko (flyweight)
- Marc Diakiese vs. Joel Álvarez (lightweight)
- Lerone Murphy vs. Joshua Culibao (featherweight)
- Davey Grant vs. Daniel Marcos (bantamweight)
- Jai Herbert vs. Fares Ziam (lightweight)
- Chris Duncan vs. Yanal Ashmoz (lightweight)
- Michael Parkin vs. Jamal Pogues (heavyweight)
Image: Per Haljestam/USA TODAY Sports
- Read Also: Tom Aspinall ‘Wouldn’t Blame’ Jon Jones For Retiring After First Defense: ‘He Doesn’t Have To Fight Young Contenders Like Me’
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