UFC world left shattered over 'awful' scenes: 'This is heartbreaking'
The UFC world has been left heartbroken for Tom Aspinall after the British fighter suffered a serious knee injury just 15 seconds into his fight against Curtis Blaudes in London.
The 29-year-old fighter from Manchester, ranked sixth in the division, fell to the mat in agony after his knee gave way during the opening exchanges of the fight at London’s O2 Arena.
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Aspinall suffered the injury to his right knee after kicking Blaydes and stepping back as Blaydes fired a punch at him.
When Aspinall took a step back, something gave in his knee and he cried out in pain.
Referee Herb Dean was forced to stop the fight it at 15 seconds in the first round.
Aspinall had tried to make a typically fast start and landed with an early kick to the fourth-ranked Blaydes’ thigh.
But his knee buckled horribly after planting his foot and he could not continue.
"Such a shame, what a tragedy that is," one commentator said while watching at ring-side.
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, broadcasting the fight for ESPN, asked a ringside physician what he though the injury may have been.
The doctor told Bisping they suspected an injury to the medial collateral ligament.
Bisping told BT Sport: “It is awful. I had a quick chat with the doctor and he thinks it‘s the MCL. It’s an extremely agonising injury.
“Tom is a warrior, Curtis is all class and it‘s so sad.
“Injuries happen, it‘s a freak occurrence but it’s sometimes part of the sport.”
The TKO loss was Aspinall’s first defeat since May of 2016.
“It‘s almost like we didn’t even fight,” Blaydes said afterwards.
“I wanted to come here and make a statement. I know a win over him would have shown the world that I‘m ready for a title shot, that I’m legit.
“I wish the injury hadn‘t happened. We never really got an opportunity to showcase our skills.”
Gutting scenes, and we're all wishing Tom Aspinall a speedy recovery. 👏@RazorBlaydes265 gets the win, but not how anyone would've wanted it. #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/4bL56mtw6H
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) July 23, 2022
UFC world left gutted over 'awful' scenes
MMA reporter Andy Stevenson tweeted: “Just awful for Tom Aspinall. Terrible situation for Blaydes too. Just a s***ty situation.”
Simon Head added: "Oh man. What a terrible end to the night. Tom Aspinall collapses with a knee injury and the fight is waved off in the opening seconds. Looks like either a dislocated kneecap or knee ligament damage."
Just one week ago, Brian Ortega dislocated his shoulder near the end of the first round as he was attempting to defend an arm bar against Yair Rodriguez.
That fight only lasted four minutes, 11 seconds.
That's brutally awful luck for poor Tom Aspinall. #UFCLondon
— Andrew Gaffney (@GaffneyVLC) July 23, 2022
Oh man. What a terrible end to the night. Tom Aspinall collapses with a knee injury and the fight is waved off in the opening seconds. Looks like either a dislocated kneecap or knee ligament damage. #UFCLondon
— Simon Head (@simonhead) July 23, 2022
Aspinall is still on the mat. In a ton of pain. This is heartbreaking stuff for the big man. Really unfortunate.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 23, 2022
That's brutally awful luck for poor Tom Aspinall. #UFCLondon
— Andrew Gaffney (@GaffneyVLC) July 23, 2022
Absolutely gutted for Tom Aspinall, what an awful ending to an amazing night of fighting! Heartbroken for him 😫. #UFCLondon
— JAB (@suckitandseepal) July 23, 2022
What an awful way to end this card. A card that definitely needed a complete main event. Feel completely gutted for Tom Aspinall right now. #UFCLondon
— Joe Gravel (@JoeGravel20) July 23, 2022
@AspinallMMA Horrific scenes, hopefully you bounce back soon! #UFCLondon
— James Pattinson (@jamespatty93) July 23, 2022
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