Tom Aspinall was due to make UFC debut at first event cancelled during worldwide shutdown
03/21/2025 07:00 AM
The UFC returns to the O2 Arena in London on Saturday night with the venue hosting some memorable events in recent times.
March 22’s Fight Night card, unlike the previous 3 to take place on UK soil, will not feature the interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall at the top of the card with Leon Edwards receiving the main event spot as he looks to bounce back in style.
Whilst the pre-fight predictions for Edwards’ 5-round clash with Sean Brady are largely one-sided, there’s still plenty to be excited about ahead of this weekend.
Several staples of the UFC’s trips to England are in action with the likes of Molly McCann and Aspinall’s training partner featuring on the card.
Many of the home fighters who will make the walk in the capital this weekend were set to do so back in 2020 until the Octagon’s routine trip to London became the first event to be cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Tom Aspinall’s debut would’ve also featured Leon Edwards’ first UK main event and the UFC introduction of Shavkat Rakhmonov
On March 14, the UFC’s Fight Night card in Brasilia became the first event in the promotion’s history to take place behind closed doors due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The following weekend’s event in London was cancelled entirely despite the MMA leader’s best efforts to keep the show running.
March 21’s main event would’ve seen Leon Edwards headline a card in the UK for the first time as he faced Tyron Woodley who lost the welterweight title to Kamaru Usman the previous year.
Along with familiar faces like Darren Stewart, Jack Shore, Paul Craig, Lerone Murphy and Molly McCann, the card also featured Kevin Holland, Marvin Vettori, a debuting Shavkat Rakhmonov and a co-main event between fan favorites Nicolas Dalby and Danny Roberts.
Two brits were also set to debut with Tom Aspinall facing Jake Collier and Jai Herbert taking on Marc Diakiese after both men signed to the UFC as former Cage Warriors champions.
Both Aspinall and Herbert would later debut on July at the Fight Island event headlined by Robert Whittaker vs Darren Till.
One fight did still take place that weekend with Stewart and Bartosz Fabinski, who were originally matched against different opponents, being booked on Cage Warriors 113 which took place behind closed doors on March 20 despite both men still being signed to the UFC.
It would be 2 months before the Octagon would return with UFC 249 taking place in Jacksonville on May 9.
Check out the full cancelled fight card below:
Main Card:
Tyron Woodley vs Leon Edwards
Danny Roberts vs Nicolas Dalby
Jack Marshman vs Kevin Holland
Darren Stewart vs Marvin Vettori
Jack Shore vs Geraldo de Freitas
Prelims:
Marc Diakiese vs Jai Herbert
Paul Craig vs Ryan Spann
Lerone Murphy vs Gabriel Benitez
Molly McCann vs Ashlee Evans-Smith
Early Prelims:
Mike Grundy vs Makwan Amirkhani
John Phillips vs Dusko Todorovic
Tom Aspinall vs Jake Collier
Bartosz Fabinski vs Shavkat Rakhmonov
Leon Edwards found himself in a tough spot after his cancelled main event
Whilst many of the fighters who were booked to compete at the cancelled London Fight Night event, this unfortunate outcome had a significant impact on Leon Edwards’ career.
Tyron Woodley was rescheduled to face Gilbert Burns the following May in a matchup that earned ‘Durinho’ a welterweight title shot despite Edwards’ impressive winning streak.
Having beaten Rafael dos Anjos in July of 2019, ‘Rocky’ would be inactive until his return against Belal Muhammad of March of 2021 following cancelled matchups with Woodley and Khamzat Chimaev.
Having headlined the O2 Arena in London as the welterweight champion at UFC 286, he now returns to the same building to try and re-establish himself in the title picture after losing the belt last time out.
