UFC London 2022 results and recap: Aspinall thrills in night of finishes with first-round submission of Volkov

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London, March 20: UFC's long-awaited return to London with UFC London 2022: Volkov vs. Aspinall blew off the O2 Arena as 9 of the 12 fights including the headliner ended in stoppages.

As many fights ended in finishes and hometown heroes delivered amazing performances, the sold-out event was a success on all fronts. All nine finishers earned $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses, and it was the highest grossing Fight Night in UFC history.

With 17,081 fans in attendance, UFC London 2022 was the highest grossing single sporting event in the O2 history and also the highest grossing Fight Night in UFC history

The highly anticipated heavyweight contenders' main event between No. 6 ranked Alexander Volkov and No. 11 ranked Tom Aspinall gave the London crowd exactly what they wanted: a dominant victory from their underdog.

Aspinall had Volkov on the back foot, easily got the thudding takedown, and from there was able to secure a fight-finishing straight armlock.

After the first round tapout, Aspinall said, "I've been telling everyone all week that I'm born for this! The secret is self-belief. My teammates, my coaches, they believe in me.

"Since I was born my brother's been helping me every day. I believe in myself so much because of everyone who's around me. Someone buy me a beer!"

From the word go in the co-main event, it was high stakes for the hearts of the audience when hometown No. 7 ranked featherweight contender Arnold Allen and fan favorite Dan Hooker entered the Octagon.

Allen quickly unloaded a barrage of punches, through which Hooker unbelievably stayed standing and fired back. But a second onslaught from Allen spelled the end, spurring the referee to jump in and stop the fight.

After the first round TKO victory, Allen said, "My coach said to wrestle. I said I'm English, we don't wrestle! I know how hard I hit. I know how good of a striker I am. I want to dedicate this fight to my Muay Thai master who's in the hospital battling cancer. This is for you."

The main card started off with a bang when Jai Herbert dropped Ilia Topuria with a head kick inside the first minute, but Topuria turned things around in the second and got the come from behind KO.

The hometown pair from Liverpool, Molly McCann and Paddy Pimblett, raised the roof off the 02 Arena with a pair of spectacular finishes. McCann and Luana Carolina battled into the third round where McCann landed a spinning back elbow that flattened her opponent.

Pimblett was put on his back early by Kazula Vargas, but he returned the favor with his own judo throw and a rear naked choke for the tapout.

In the only decision win on the main card, Gunnar Nelson earned the scores from all three judges in a welterweight bout against Takashi Sato.

Earlier in the preliminary card, Mike Grundy, Sergei Pavlovich, Paul Craig and Muhammad Mokaev earned stoppage wins in their respective bouts, while Jack Shore and Elise Reed claimed decision wins.

UFC London 2022 Results

Main Card

1. Heavyweight Bout: Tom Aspinall defeated Alexander Volkov via submission (straight armlock) at 3:45 of round one

2. Featherweight Bout: Arnold Allen defeated Dan Hooker via TKO at 2:33 of round one

3. Lightweight Bout: Paddy Pimblett defeated Kazula Vargas via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:49 of round one

4. Welterweight Bout: Gunnar Nelson defeated Takashi Sato via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

5. Women's Flyweight Bout: Molly McCann defeated Luana Carolina via KO at 1:52 of round three

6. Lightweight Bout: Ilia Topuria defeated Jai Herbert via KO at 1:07 of round two

Preliminary Card

1. Featherweight Bout: Mike Grundy defeated Makwan Amirkhani via submission (Anaconda choke) at 0:57 of round one

2. Heavyweight Bout: Sergei Pavlovich defeated Shamil Abdurakhimov via TKO (strikes) at 4:03 of round one

3. Light Heavyweight Bout: Paul Craig defeated Nikita Krylov via submission (triangle choke) at 3:57 of round one

4. Bantamweight Bout: Jack Shore defeated Timur Valiev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)

5. Women's Strawweight Bout: Elise Reed defeated Cory McKenna via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30)

6. Flyweight Bout: Muhammad Mokaev defeated Cody Durden via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:58 of round one