Aspinall returns from injury, runs through Tybura in UFC London main event

Almost exactly a year after losing a fight because of a freak knee injury, Tom Aspinall bounced back in emphatic fashion.

The heavyweight contender made quick work of Marcin Tybura in Saturday's UFC London main event, winning via TKO at the 1:13 mark of the first round.

Significantly quicker and lighter on his feet than his opponent, Aspinall rocked Tybura with a right elbow and then sat him down with a powerful straight right. The Englishman followed Tybura to the canvas and blasted him with ground-and-pound shots until the referee intervened.

"That seemed like an easy fight, but Marcin is a really, really good guy," Aspinall said in his postfight interview. "The guy's won seven of his last eight in the top 10. ... This guy is a really, really good human being. It was really tough to fight him tonight."

Aspinall, the No. 5-ranked heavyweight, returned to the Octagon 364 days after tearing his MCL and meniscus and damaging his ACL 15 seconds into a fight against Curtis Blaydes. That matchup also headlined a UFC London event at O2 Arena.

"This is a whole new version of me," Aspinall, who has scored first-round finishes in five of his six UFC wins, said of his performance against Tybura. "I'm not going to say that I'm back, because I'm different now. I'm just different than what I was last year. My mind's different, my body's different. And I'm going all the way."

The 30-year-old clearly laid out what he wants his next two fights to look like: A No. 1 contender bout and then a shot at Jon Jones' UFC heavyweight title.

"I'm going to go to Paris. I'm going to be sat front row for Ciryl Gane against Serghei Spivac (on Sept. 2). I'm going to beat the winner. And then I'm going to beat Jon Jones," Aspinall said.

Jones, who's scheduled to defend the heavyweight title against former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on Nov. 11, appeared to respond to Aspinall's prediction on Twitter.

Gane also reacted to Aspinall's interview.

With the victory, Aspinall improves to 6-1 in the UFC. He's won nine of his last 10 pro appearances.

Aspinall has the second-most finishes in the UFC since the beginning of 2020 with six, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Welterweight Kevin Holland has seven.

Tybura, ranked No. 10 in the heavyweight division, was riding a two-fight winning streak heading into Saturday's bout. This was the 37-year-old's first loss since October 2021 and his first stoppage defeat since September 2019.