An injury to Tom Aspinall derailed the UFC Fight Night 208 main event against Curtis Blaydes.
The fight was extremely brief, lasting only 15 seconds. Blaydes (17-3, 1 NC) opened the fight well landing several punches. After Aspinall (12-3) countered with a leg kick, he then recoiled to the floor. On the step back, the British fighter appeared to have hurt his right knee, clutching it, and the fight ended. Doctors attended to Aspinall, who was able to get up and be assisted to the back after several minutes on the ground.
With the TKO victory, Blaydes has now won three straight.
Hermansson Schools Curtis
The co-main event saw middleweight contenders Jack Hermansson and Chris Curtis clash for three rounds.
"The Joker" controlled the fight early by landing kicks from a distance and some solid right hands. Curtis (29-9) failed to adjust between rounds, which allowed Hermansson (23-7) to really amp up his offense and land slashing standing elbows. Despite clearly needing a finish, "The Action Man" failed to live up to his nickname in the third round and was never willing to take the risks needed to win the fight. The Swedish fighter took a wide decision with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Hermansson has now won two of his last three fights.
Pimblett Submits Leavitt
Paddy Pimblett proved that "The Baddy" is here to stay against Jordan Leavitt.
Pimblett (19-3) would scare "The Monkey King" with a tight guillotine choke attempt early and showed off his superior striking late in the first round. Leavitt (10-2) would continue rampant takedown attempts in the second frame but found himself in danger after "The Baddy" landed a damaging knee and took his opponent's back. A rear-naked choke was locked up and the tap came shortly thereafter.
Pimblett picked up his third win inside the Octagon at 2:46 of Round 2.
Krylov Dispatches Gustafsson
The mixed martial arts career of Alexander Gustafsson might have come to an end against Nikita Krylov.
Krylov (28-9) found success instantly as he cracked Gustafsson (18-8) with a right hand early that floored the Swede. Krylov didn't give "The Mauler" any chance to recover as he kept pressuring with punches and knees. An uppercut would crumble the former light heavyweight title challenger and the fight was waved off after a series of strikes.
The stoppage came at just 1:07 of Round 1.
McCann Destroys Goldy
Molly McCann followed up her knockout of the year contender with a flyweight bout against Hannah Goldy.
With a rare reach advantage, the game plan for McCann (13-4) was clear as she wanted to strike and she did just that as she stuffed takedowns from Goldy (6-3). McCann showed heavy hands as she landed an overhand right and then a spinning elbow that put Goldy on wobbly legs. A series of punches followed and the fight was waved off at 3:52 of Round 1.
McCann has now won three straight fights.
Oezdemir Dominates Craig
The main card opened with a bout between light heavyweight contenders Paul Craig and Volkan Oezdemir.
The power of Oezdemir (18-6) was immediately felt by Craig (16-5-1), who struggled to bring the fight to the ground while the Swiss fighter found momentum on the feet. Craig found some success on the feet while changing levels and keeping a nonstop pace but was never in control. "No Time" remained dangerous, landing several hard shots that hurt the Scottish fighter in both of the final frames that clearly put the fight in his favor.
After a hard-fought 15 minutes, Oezdemir took a unanimous decision win with three scorecards of 30-27.
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