Tom Aspinall will face No.4 heavyweight Curtis Blaydes at UFC Fight Night 208. on July 23 at The O2 Arena in London, UK, in his second UFC event in four months.

Aspinall (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), currently ranks No.6, advanced to title contention with five consecutive UFC victories. His most recent one came in March when he defeated Alexander Volkov in the first round.

In UFC heavyweight competition, Aspinall’s average fight time of 2:57 is the shortest in divisional history. The 29-year-old lands 7.33 significant strikes per minute, the second-highest rate in divisional history behind Jake Collier (7.66).

Blaydes (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) is on a two-fight winning streak, most recently defeating Chris Daukaus in the main event of a UFC Fight Night on March 26. Blaydes, who fights out of Colorado, is 11-3 in the UFC. His only losses came at the hands of reigning champion Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis.

Paddy Pimblett vs. Jordan Leavitt

Previously, Paddy Pimblett (18-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was arguably the star at the O2 Arena in March, the first UFC London event since 2019. The 27-year-old lightweight is coming off a four-fight winning streak.

The Liverpudlian excels at grappling, having good control and submission skills. He is known for his willingness to dive into opportunities and pull guard if necessary.

His abilities in that area will be put to the test this weekend when he faces Jordan Leavitt. Leavitt (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is one of only 12 fighters in UFC history to score a slam knockout. His 22-second slam knockout at UFC on ESPN 19 was the second fastest victory, trailing only Josh Burkman’s 21-second win at The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale in November 2005.

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Nikita Krylov

Alexander Gustafsson (18-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) has fought three title fights throughout his career but never won the championship belt. He will to the octagon following a two-year hiatus to face Nikita Krylov, the #11 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

His most recent fight was in July 2020, when he lost by submission to Fabricio Werdum. He has not fought in an MMA match since. If he wins, the 35-year-old Swede may be able to compete in much bigger fights in the coming year or two.

Nikita Krylov (27-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC) has a professional record of 27-9, dating back to 2012. Krylov rose to prominence in the MMA community after winning 12 consecutive fights in various Ukrainian and Russian promotions. He signed with the UFC in 2013.

Krylov’s UFC career did not begin well as he lost his debut fight. However, he went on to win six of his next eight fights. Still, that was not enough to convince UFC executives to extend his contract, so he returned to Eastern Europe.

Full card

The full card for UFC Fight Night 208 is as follows:

Main card:

Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall (heavyweight)

Jack Hermansson vs. Chris Curtis (middleweight)

Paddy Pimblett vs. Jordan Leavitt (lightweight)

Nikita Krylov vs. Alexander Gustafsson (light heavyweight)

Molly McCann vs. Hannah Goldy (women’s flyweight)

Paul Craig vs. Volkan Oezdemir (light heavyweight)

Prelims:

Marc Diakiese vs. Damir Hadzovic (lightweight)

Nathaniel Wood vs. Charles Rosa (bantamweight)

Makwan Amirkhani vs. Jonathan Pearce (featherweight)

Muhammad Mokaev vs. Charles Johnson (flyweight)

Jai Herbert vs. Kyle Nelson (lightweight)

Mandy Bohm vs. Victoria Leonardo (women’s flyweight)

Claudio Silva vs. Nicolas Dalby (welterweight)

L’udovit Klein vs. Mason Jones (lightweight)

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