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Brett Okamoto
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ESPN Staff Writer- MMA columnist for ESPN.com
- Analyst for “MMA Live”
- Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun
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Marc Raimondi
LONDON — The UFC is back in the United Kingdom for the first time since March 2019, with a main card featuring plenty of the region’s most promising talent.
In the main event, England’s Tom Aspinall (11-2) will try to remain unbeaten in the UFC against Russia’s Alexander Volkov (34-9). Aspinall, 28, has made an instant impact in the division already, with four consecutive finishes in the Octagon. He trains out of Liverpool with Team Kaobon. Volkov has won three of his last four, scoring knockout wins over Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris. His lone loss comes to former interim heavyweight champion, Ciryl Gane.
The co-main event is an equally important fight. Fan favorite Dan Hooker (21-11) is fighting at featherweight for the first time since 2016, following an up and down run at lightweight. He faces Suffolk, England’s Arnold Allen (17-1), who is on an eight-fight win streak and creeping into title contention.
The card will also feature Paddy Pimblett (17-3) and Molly McCann (11-4) of Liverpool, and Jai Herbert (11-3) of Wolverhampton, England.
Follow along as Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi recap the action as it happens or watch the fights live on ESPN+.
Still to come:
Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov (34-9, 8-3 UFC, +110) vs. Tom Aspinall (11-2, 4-0 UFC. -130)
Men’s featherweight: Arnold Allen (17-1, 8-0 UFC, -120) vs. Dan Hooker (21-11, 11-7 UFC, +100)
Lightweight: Paddy Pimblett (17-3, 1-0 UFC, -575) vs. Kazula Vargas (12-4, 1-2 UFC, +425)
Welterweight: Gunnar Nelson (17-5-1, 8-5 UFC, -500) vs. Takashi Sato (16-4, 2-2 UFC, +380)
Women’s flyweight: Molly McCann (11-4, 4-3 UFC, -130) vs. Luana Carolina (8-2, 3-1 UFC, +110)
Lightweight: Jai Herbert (11-3, 1-2 UFC, +425) vs. Ilia Topuria (11-0, 3-0 UFC, -575)
Men’s featherweight: Mike Grundy (12-3, 1-2 UFC, -190) vs. Makwan Amirkhani (16-7, 6-5 UFC, +160)
Heavyweight: Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-6, 5-4 UFC, +250) vs. Sergei Pavlovich (14-1, 2-1 UFC, -310)
Light heavyweight: Nikita Krylov (27-8, 8-6 UFC, -190) vs. Paul Craig (15-4-1, 6-5-1 UFC, +160)
Men’s bantamweight: Jack Shore (15-0, 4-0 UFC, +100) vs. Timur Valiev (18-2 1 NC, 2-0 1 NC UFC, -120)
Strawweight: Cory McKenna (6-1, 1-0 UFC, -270) vs. Elise Reed (4-1, 0-1 UFC, +220)
Men’s flyweight: Muhammad Mokaev (6-0, 0-0 UFC, -400) vs. Cody Durden (12-3-1, 2-1 UFC, +310)