UFC London has been all but confirmed over the past couple of days, with various UFC fighters dropping plenty of hints. If you haven’t been keeping up to date, here is a small dump of hints that have dropped so far.
Darren Till leaks Jack Hermansson fight?
Cage Warriors have traditionally done a London card the Friday before a UFC event :
As well as these pieces of the puzzle, UK stars of the last London card, Mohammed Mokaev and Molly McCann have had fights confirmed for the Fight Night card.
Now let’s take a look at who could possibly be fighting on the summer’s biggest fight card. This is mainly speculation, put together with either logic or by following the trail of crumbs the fighters leave out for the media to find.
Tom Aspinall Vs. Tai Tuivasa
As the headliner for the return to the O2 Arena, it only feels right that we stick with our heavyweight hopeful Tom Aspinall. After such a dominant display against Russian giant Volkov, why fix what isn’t broken?
Aspinall called out “Bam Bam” at UFC London. A callout Tuivasa was originally dismissed in favour of a fight with Stipe Miocic. Miocic looks to be set on meeting Jon Jones later this year in a battle of the greats, leaving Tuivasa’s schedule wide open for the chance to taste a good old English pint.
Darren Till vs Jack Hermansson
After missing out on the last card, what are the chances Darren Till will let this one pass him by?. The only man I could see him giving up the top of the card spot to is teammate Tom Aspinall, whom he thinks greatly of. After the “leaked” text messages from what appears to be Dana White that confirms “The Joker”, this one is all but confirmed. That being said, would you put it passed Darren to lead us astray?
Paul Craig vs Anthony Smith
This one has seemed pretty straightforward for a long time now. Both “Bearjew” and “Lionheart” have verbally agreed numerous times that the fight should take place, and it’s hard to argue. Craig is looking to climb to the very top of his division, and Smith is the man to test if you are capable.
Arnold Allen vs Calvin Kattar
The fight that everyone should unanimously agree upon is this one. Arnold Allen reminded everyone just how lethal he was at the March event as he dismantled Dan Hooker. Calvin Kattar, on the other hand, beat Giga Chikadze in a display of grit that left the fans buzzing to see him in there again.
Neither man has anything in the pipeline as of yet, and if this one comes together, it will be worth the price all by itself.
Jack Shore vs Umar Numagomedov
Recently ranked Welshman Jack “Tank” Shore should be a lot higher on the fight card this time. To many, Ricky Simon would be a more obvious choice, fighting up the rankings instead of down.
Numagomedov, though brings a lot more to the fight. Two undefeated prospects, both from fighting families. Simon is an excellent fight and fighter, don’t get me wrong, but this fight would end up in front of way more pre-invested eyes as opposed to letting the fight do the talking as Shore so often does.
UFC London July 23rd: Predicted Fight Card
Main Card
Tom Aspinall vs Tai Tuivasa
Darren Till vs Jack Hermansson
Paul Craig vs Anthony Smith
Arnold Allen vs Calvin Kattar
Jack Shore vs Umar Numagomedov
Paddy Pimblett vs Jamie Mullarkey
Prelims
Molly McCann vs Mariya Agapova
Lerone Murphy vs Hakeem Dawodu
Nathaniel Wood vs Brian Kelleher
Mohammed Mokaev vs Charles Johnson
Javid Basharat vs Julio Arce
Marc Diakese vs Mike Davis
Fight Pass Prelims
Danny Henry vs Steven Peterson
Dominique Wooding vs Kevin Natividad
Mason Jones vs Matt Frevola
I’m sure many of these will end up being incorrect, but if it came together like this, who wouldn’t wanna watch?
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