How British fighters stole the show at the UFC's latest event in Las Vegas
- British fighters stole the show at the UFC's latest event in Las Vegas.
- Darren Till lost his main event match to Derek Brunson.
- However, Jack Shore, Molly McCann, Paddy Pimblett, and Tom Aspinall all won stupendously.
British fighters stole the show at the UFC's most recent Las Vegas event inside the Apex.
The country's marquee middleweight Darren Till was upset in Saturday's main event, as he suffered a grotesque swelling on his eye en route to a third-round submission loss to American athlete Derek Brunson.
But that defeat was offset by the combined performances of high-flying prospect Jack Shore, gutsy flyweight Molly McCann, debutant rockstar Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett, and big-punching big man Tom Aspinall.
Together, this awesome foursome is becoming must-see TV, and will be set to blow the roof off of a venue in England when the UFC finally returns for a post-pandemic event at London's 02 Arena.
A potential Georges St. Pierre in-the-making wins again
Often compared to MMA all-timer Georges St. Pierre by UFC commentator and former champion Michael Bisping, Jack Shore, 26, maintained his undefeated record with a decision win against Liudvik Sholinian.
It was a dominant performance for Shore, who landed 104 of his 168 strikes for a 62% accuracy rate, and succeeded with two of his eight takedown attempts.
To compare, Shore limited Sholinian to 33 of 108 strikes (30%). Sholinian failed to take Shore to the ground, too, despite trying four times.
Victory advanced Shore's record to 15 wins (four knockouts, eight submissions, and three decisions), unbeaten.
McCann rebounds from losses with a gutsy decision
Molly McCann, 31, was in desperate need of a win after suffering back-to-back losses in her previous two matches.
Against Ji Yeon Kim, McCann showed what she is about as she earned a decision on points in a fight-of-the-night thriller.
The UFC was so impressed with McCann and Kim's match, that it distributed a $50,000 performance-related bonus to both combatants.
This is how McCann reacted when she heard she'd won the bonus:
With victory, McCann advanced her pro MMA record to 11 wins (four knockouts and seven decisions) against four losses.
Pimblett scores one of the all-time great UFC debuts
Paddy Pimblett, 26, entered the UFC Octagon with great hype.
The man dubbed "The Baddy" left previous promotion Cage Warriors as a two-weight champion, signed for the UFC earlier this year, and quickly told Insider that he wasn't just the signing of the year - but also the decade.
If debuts are anything to go by, Pimblett did not disappoint as he survived an early onslaught of Luigi Vendramini's power punching to deliver a finishing blow of his own, scoring an awesome first-round knockout.
After his win, Pimblett declared: "The new king is here." And after a debut like that, it is hard to disagree.
Watch it right here:
Pimblett, like McCann, earned a $50,000 performance-related bonus, and advanced his pro MMA record to 17 wins (six knockouts, seven submissions, and four decisions) against three losses.
A heavyweight slugger is becoming a heavyweight attraction
The last but no means least of Britain's winners on the night was Tom Aspinall, 28, who keeps on finishing his opponents with an apparent ease.
Aspinall is must-see TV for good reason - he can club a man to the floor at will, and that never, no matter how many times you see it, gets boring.
After beating Jake Collier and Alan Baudot last year, then Andrei Arlovski earlier this year, Aspinall finished his fourth UFC opponent when he beat Sergey Spivak with an elbow and punches in the first round Saturday.
Watch his knockout right here:
Aspinall, not to be outdone by Pimblett or McCann, also earned a performance-related check from the UFC.
This is how he reacted:
With victory, the powerful 6-foot-5 slugger advanced his pro MMA reocrd to 11 wins (nine knockouts and two submissions) against two losses.