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Tom Aspinall made a triumphant return to the ring at UFC London on Saturday, stopping Marcin Tybura in the first round.
Almost one year to the day after suffering a knee injury at the O2 Arena – just 15 seconds into a bout with Curtis Blaydes – Aspinall returned to the venue for another main event. And this one played out as differently as the Wigan heavyweight would have hoped, with Aspinall securing a TKO at 1:13 of the first round.
Aspinall, 30, hurt Tybura early with a head kick but resisted getting carried away, instead biding his time – briefly, at least – before dropping the Pole with a straight right hand. Aspinall then pounced with grounds strikes, forcing the stoppage to get back to winning ways.
The result put the crowd back in jubilant spirits, after “Meatball” Molly McCann suffered a submission loss in the co-main event. The Liverpudlian fan favourite tapped to an armbar in her flyweight clash with Julija Stoliarenko.