Tom Aspinall was not impressed with what he noticed at UFC London.
The promotion made its annual pit cease in ‘The Big Smoke’ on Saturday night time for a Battle Night time card headlined by the return of former welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Sadly, the occasion did not ship on the thrill as 9 of the night’s 13 fights went to a choice, together with an particularly boring co-main occasion between Jan Blachowicz and Carlos Ulberg.
Even the UK crowd — which is generally very animated — discovered little to cheer for all through the night time, including to the monotony.
Aspinall, who was sitting entrance row heart for the festivities, echoed that very sentiment, calling the environment within the O2 Enviornment “flat” and noting that many followers have been headed for the automobile park as quickly as the primary occasion was over.
“To be honest with you, it was just flat as hell in the 02 Arena on Saturday night. I was quite disappointed… we needed something.
A couple of years ago UK MMA was absolutely banging. We’ve still got so much talent, but we just need that excitement. The last few shows in the… pic.twitter.com/df78lKvZG5
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 24, 2025
“To be honest with you, [UK MMA] needed a big night at the O2 Arena,” Aspinall stated throughout an look on The Ariel Helwani Present. “It was simply flat as hell within the O2 Enviornment on Saturday night time. I used to be fairly upset as a result of, I don’t know, we would have liked one thing.
“A couple of years ago, UK MMA was absolutely banging. We’ve still got so much talent, but we just need that excitement, and the last few shows in the O2, we just haven’t had it, unfortunately. I don’t know why that is, but it’s not flowing the way it was.”
Shauna Bannon Brings the Highs, Molly McCann brings the lows at UFC London
Probably the most thrilling second of UFC London got here throughout the early prelims when Eire’s personal Shauna Bannon scored a comeback for the ages in opposition to Puja Tomar.
Close to the midway level of the opening spherical, Tomar landed a wonderfully timed head kick that caught Bannon clear and despatched her crashing to the canvas. Issues regarded dire for Bannon who was doing all the things attainable to outlive the spherical. A minute later, Bannon managed to grab Tomar’s arm, locking in an armbar that pressured the Indian to faucet out.
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR?!Dropped by a brutal head kick at present at #UFCLondon, 🇮🇪 Shauna Bannon flipped the script with a slick armbar for the win!
That’s 2️⃣ in a row for the Irish firecracker. Coronary heart. Grit. A rising strawweight to look at. #WMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/9Vu6cyjMBS
— Girls’s MMA Rankings (@WMMARankings) March 23, 2025
Bannon took him a well-deserved $50,000 bonus for her efficiency.
Nevertheless, the elation turned to tears two hours later when UK fan favourite ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann introduced her retirement from the game after succumbing to a first-round rear-naked choke in opposition to the debuting Alexia Thainara.
That on high of Leon Edwards’ humiliating loss to Sean Brady left followers UK with an evening they’d slightly quickly neglect.
