Preview: UFC Fight Night 224 ‘Aspinall vs. Tybura’

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s twice-annual trips to London have become a highlight of the schedule in recent years, and while UFC Fight Night 224 this Saturday at the O2 Arena might be the weakest card of the bunch, it still has plenty of potential to offer a good time. Heavyweights take center stage in what figures to be a headliner of significant importance, as it features the return of Tom Aspinall, who looks to reassert himself as a top contender against Marcin Tybura after suffering a serious knee injury a year ago. Other than that, the typical mix of well-made fights involving British talent make the rounds. Molly McCann takes on Julija Stoliarenko in the co-main event—this assumes the latter can successfully drop to 125 pounds—and Paul Craig downshifts to middleweight for a compelling clash with Andre Muniz.

Now to the UFC Fight Night 224 “Aspinall vs. Tybura” preview:

Heavyweights

#5 HW | Tom Aspinall (12-3, 5-1 UFC) vs. #10 HW | Marcin Tybura (24-7, 11-6 UFC)

ODDS: Aspinall (-450), Tybura (+350)

Aspinall steps back into the spotlight, and how he looks in his return figures to be the most important happening on the card. He looked solid ahead of his 2020 promotional debut but was firmly in the category of unproven fliers. Coming from a grappling background and then pivoting to a boxing career before returning to mixed martial arts, Aspinall checked a lot of boxes but was not particularly proven in terms of level of competition. That changed in short order, as he faced little adversity during a five-fight run up the ladder. Quick finishes of Jake Collier and Alan Baudot got him off to a hot start, and a second-round victory over Andrei Arlovski showed another level of promise. Once Arlovski refused to go away quickly like most of Aspinall's opponents, the Englishman immediately shifted to his wrestling and earned a submission shortly thereafter. That turned out to be Aspinall’s last time outside of the first round. He handled Sergey Spivak without much issue, and what figured to be a tough test against Alexander Volkov in Aspinall’s first main event was a one-sided affair that saw him outclass the Russian on the ground for a first-round submission. That set Aspinall up for a subsequent main event against Curtis Blaydes a year ago, when a win would have put the Brit firmly in the title picture. However, Aspinall suffered a major knee injury just 15 seconds into the fight, ending the show on a flat note and leaving everyone to wait for his eventual return. One day short of a year later, Aspinall makes his return to London against Tybura in what seems like the right level of rebound fight. Tybura is eternally hanging around the fringes of the UFC’s heavyweight Top 10 and essentially serves as the test to see who can make it into the division’s elite. Tybura was one of the better pickups as part of the UFC’s attempt to sign every heavyweight available circa 2016, but the Pole needed a brief adjustment period. It quickly became apparent that Tybura’s typical smothering approach would not consistently work in the UFC after a loss to the gigantic Tim Johnson, so “Tybur” went about developing a solid striking game that has continued to serve him well. The heavyweight division typically revolves around durability and knockout power, and Tybura has essentially found the ceiling for someone who does not have either at an elite level. He can outmaneuver more plodding opponents and usually find a path to his wrestling, but it will usually take three rounds and often involves Tybura surviving a lot of trouble early on. This fight essentially revolves around how well Aspinall snaps back into form, as anything approaching his usual self is a particularly rough assignment for Tybura, who generally struggles with fast starters and also will not have his usual advantages on the mat. There is a chance that Aspinall burns himself out, but it still feels unlikely that it even gets that far. The pick is Aspinall via first-round knockout.

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Aspinall vs. Tybura
McCann vs. Stoliarenko
Wood vs. Fili
Muniz vs. Craig
Ziam vs. Herbert
Murphy vs. Culibao
The Prelims