Tom Aspinall will be headlining UFC London but it won’t be against his original opponent.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Aspinall was originally supposed to fight Shamil Abdurakhimov. However, Shamil was pulled from the fight and the Brit will now face Alexander Volkov instead.
Aspinall vs. Volkov will serve as the main event of UFC London on March 19, while Adurkahimov will now fight Sergei Pavlovich.
Tom Aspinall (11-2) is coming off a first-round TKO win over Serghei Spivac back in September in what was supposed to be UFC London before it got moved to the Apex. He’s currently 4-0 in the UFC and is ranked 10th at heavyweight.
Aspinall made his debut on Fight Island in July where he knocked out Jake Collier in 45 seconds. He followed that up with a first-round TKO over Alan Baudot in October. The Brit most recently earned a first-round submission victory over Andrei Arlovski which was a massive win.
Alexander Volkov (34-9), meanwhile, returned to the win column last time out as he beat Marcin Tybura by decision at UFC 267. The Russian is just 4-3 in his last seven with losses to Ciryl Gane, Curtis Blaydes, and Derrick Lewis during that time.
Since joining the UFC in 2016, Volkov has headlined five UFC events and is 3-2 in those fights. The former Bellator heavyweight champion holds notable wins over Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Roy Nelson, and Stefan Struve among others.
With Tom Aspinall vs. Alexander Volkov set to headline, UFC London is as follows:
- Tom Aspinall vs. Alexander Volkov
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Sergei Pavlovich
- Mike Grundy vs. Makwan Amirkhani
- Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev
- Paddy Pimblett vs. Kazula Vargas
- Muhammad Mokaev vs. Cody Durden
- Elise Reed vs. Cory McKenna
- Jake Hadley vs. Allen Nascimento
Who do you think wins the UFC London main event between Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!