UFC Fight Night – Blaydes vs. Aspinall, live results and analysis

LONDON — The UFC is back in England for the second time this year with a UFC Fight Night card on Saturday inside the O2 Arena.

The promotion went three years without a single event in London between 2019 and 2022, but it’s making up for lost time by staging two in the past five months. English heavyweight Tom Aspinall (12-2) has served as the headliner for both, and he could take a big step toward title contention with a victory over Curtis Blaydes (16-3) this weekend.

As was the case in March, Saturday is loaded with popular English talent — including lightweight Paddy Pimblett (18-3), who will meet Jordan Leavitt (10-1), and Molly McCann (12-4), who will take on Hannah Goldy (6-2).

The card also sees the return of Swedish light heavyweight and three-time title challenger Alexander Gustafsson (18-7), who is coming off a two-year layoff, against Nikita Krylov (27-9).

Follow along as Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi recap the action, or watch the fights live on ESPN+.

Fight in progress:

Paul Craig (16-4-1, 8-4-1 UFC, +140) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (17-6, 5-5 UFC, -155)

UFC London results

Lightweights: Mason Jones (11-1 1 NC, 1-1 1 NC UFC, -400) vs. Ludovit Klein (18-4, 2-2 UFC, +310)

tktktk

Lightweights: Marc Diakiese (16-5, 7-5 UFC) def. Damir Hadzovic (14-7, 4-5 UFC) by unanimous decision (Watch on ESPN+)

Diakiese was once known for his kickboxing prowess. He had several highlight-reel knockouts that earned him a spot in the UFC. Now, though, it’s very clear his game has evolved a great bit.

Using almost exclusively his wrestling and top game, Diakiese dominated Hadzovic via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27). Diakiese took Hadzovic down in every round and Hadzovic simply could not deal with…