London Calling
After three years, the UFC is back on these shores, with the biggest promotion in mixed martial arts in England's capital once again.
The card for the London event is stacked, featuring nine Brits, including the headline act on Saturday night.
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Around 20,000 fight fans will cram into the O2 where there are 12 fights to enjoy.
Background
The first London event took place back in 2002. UFC 38 featured Matt Hughes - then the welterweight champion - who beat all-time great Georges St-Pierre in the main event and Frank Mir, a man who defeated Brock Lesnar on his UFC debut, was also on the card.
However, there hasn't been a fight card since UFC London in 2019 when Darren Till headlined the card and was spectacularly knocked out by Jorge Masvidal.
Leon Edwards was also on the card and scored a victory over Gunnar Nelson, a welterweight who will fight on this year’s card, too. Mike Grundy, Molly McCann and Arnold Allen are the only competitors from the 2019 card to feature again in 2022.
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Nathaniel Wood was meant to join them, but his opponent pulled out during fight week and a replacement couldn’t be found.
The reason for UFC’s three-year exodus from the UK is an obvious one - COVID-19. Edwards was booked as the headline act in 2020 against Tyron Woodley, but the card was cancelled just six days before it was set to take place as a result of the virus’ spread.
Due to lockdowns, the company hasn't been able to hold international events outside of their successful Fight Island cards.
British takeover
“The talent on this card from the UK is phenomenal,” UFC boss Dana White told talkSPORT.
“I’m very excited to see how these fights play out and where these guys play out, it’s a big deal for the UK.”
Tom Aspinall is at the top of the card facing Alexander Volkov, a man ranked sixth in the heavyweight division.
Aspinall has won his last seven successive fights, all by first round knockout with the exception of former world champion Andrei Arlovski whom he submitted in the second round just over a year ago.
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UFC London card
Main card
- Alexander Volkov vs Tom Aspinall
- Arnold Allen vs Dan Hooker
- Paddy Pimblett vs Rodrigo Vargas
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs Sergei Pavlovich
- Nikita Krylov vs Paul Craig
- Gunnar Nelson vs Takashi Sato
Preliminary card
- Jai Herbert vs Ilia Topuria
- Muhammad Mokaev vs Cody Durden
- Mike Grundy vs Makwan Amirkhani
- Molly McCann vs Luana Carolina
- Jack Shore vs Timur Valiev
- Cory McKenna vs Elise Reed
Michael Bisping told talkSPORT Apsinall has the best chance of becoming the UK’s next world champion.
The exciting Paddy Pimblett also fights on home soil for the first time since signing with the UFC and only made his debut last September, a thrilling first round knockout of Luigi Vendramini.
The 17-3 fighter has drawn comparisons to Conor McGregor for his flamboyant and popularity, a notion endorsed by the UFC president.
“People love him. And now Paddy has got to get in and put in the work and win the fights," White said.
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“People love Conor and Conor came here and did what he set out to do. If Paddy can get in here and win these fights, he’ll be a huge superstar."
Elsewhere, Arnold Allen is another man who is on the verge of title contention if he can beat the well-liked Dan Hooker.
Allen is 17-1 in his career and has an eight-fight win streak in the featherweight division. Being unbeaten in the UFC is no small feat and if he can beat Hooker, the top six beckons.
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However, Hooker has been in the cage with Dustin Poirier, Islam Makhachev and Michael Chandler to name a few and is moving down from lightweight.
Of fighters not on the card this weekend, Edwards and Till remain two of the biggest names the UK has to offer and the former is expected to challenge for the UFC welterweight title this summer.
The UFC
MMA’s top promotion has grown exponentially over the past 10 years, thanks in part to the rise of stars like Conor McGregor becoming a global phenomenon.
The Irishman became a box office sensation drawing far more eyes - and thus money - to the sport than ever before. McGregor features in eight of the top 10 best-selling fights in company history.
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People who do not watch the sport on a regular basis may think it's a little barbaric. Certainly talkSPORT host Simon Jordan - a big boxing fan - thought so before Michael Bisping corrected him on a few misconceptions.
The Hall of Famer and former middleweight champion joined the White and Jordan show and told him and the listeners it’s actually far more technical than given credit for.
“I’m a big boxing fan as well," the Brit said.
"I was raised on boxing, but mixed martial arts is the most technical sport on the planet.
“You’ve got to master so many different Olympic sports, wrestling, boxing, karate, taekwondo, judo – these are all Olympic sports. The only thing is we do them all together.
“And now, to the layman, which is obviously yourself who hasn’t put the time and effort into learning about the sport, when you see somebody hit the ground you think, ‘Wow, that’s very vicious because they’re following them down’.
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“What happens is, you get a concussive punch to the face, you down, you take one more, they stop it.
“In [boxing], which you love so much and which you say is not as brutal, many, many people continue with the standing count.
“They then go to the hospital afterward and, sadly, ten to 15 fighters per year, around the world, pass away. We have yet to have anyone pass away with mixed martial arts.
“The smaller gloves that we use are actually to protect your hands, but you can’t take as many blows to the head.
“Of course, we don’t discriminate, it’s not just the head, we have leg kicks, we have body shots, we have grappling, we have jujitsu, we have chokeholds, and things like that.
“So, whilst on the surface – and, as I say, I’m a big boxing fan as well – it looks vicious, when you scratch the surface and you get into and understand it…
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“It’s changed 100 per cent from where it first started. it was a disgusting sport, it was very vicious, there were no rules, but it has massively evolved.
Over to you, London.