Heavyweight contenders will be in the spotlight when the UFC returns to London for the second time this year, as Curtis Blaydes takes on Tom Aspinall in the main event at UFC Fight Night 208.
Prelim action at UFC London is set to get underway on Saturday, July 23, at 11 a.m. ET at O2 Arena, with the main card scheduled for an early 2 p.m. start. Currently pegged at No. 6 in the UFC heavyweight rankings, Tom Aspinall looks to the weekend as a slender favorite on the UFC London Fight Night odds.
You can check out UFC odds among other betting markets at Sportsbook:
Curtis Blaydes vs Tom Aspinall Betting Notes
Blaydes returns to the Octagon for the first time since posting a convincing second-round TKO win over Chris Daukaus at UFC Columbus four months ago. That victory marked his first finish in his past five outings and was the sixth win in seven fights for the No. 4 contender among UFC heavyweights.
Bet On Blaydes vs Aspinall Here
Aspinall headlined the main card the last time the UFC traveled to London, and entertained British fight fans with a decisive submission victory just 3:45 into his clash with Alexander Volkov. Aspinall now enjoys an eight-fight win streak that has featured seven finishes inside five minutes, including four of his five UFC appearances to date.
Blaydes vs Aspinall Odds
Online sportsbook Sportsbook has Aspinall leading the way as a -130 favorite on the UFC London odds, while Blaydes closely lags as a +100 underdog.
UFC Fight Night London betting fans looking to cash in on the biggest underdog of the afternoon will find it during the prelims, as Charles Rosa battles fellow featherweight Nathaniel Wood as a +400 bet.
The tightest odds of the day can be found on the co-main event, with Chris Curtis sporting -110 odds in his middleweight date with Jack Hermansson, who’s favored at -120.
Blaydes vs Aspinall Betting Odds & Fight Card
- Main Card
- Heavyweight – Curtis Blaydes (+100) vs Tom Aspinall (-130)
- Middleweight – Jack Hermansson (-120) vs Chris Curtis (-110)
- Lightweight – Paddy Pimblett (-260) vs Jordan Leavitt (+200)
- Light Heavyweight – Nikita Krylov (-190) vs Alexander Gustafsson (+155)
- Women’s Flyweight – Molly McCann (-400) vs Hannah Goldy (+300)
- Light Heavyweight – Paul Craig (+130) vs Volkan Oezdemir (-160)
- Prelims
- Lightweight – Mason Jones (-350) vs Ludovit Klein (+250)
- Lightweight – Marc Diakiese (-350) vs Damir Hadzovic (+250)
- Featherweight – Nathaniel Wood (-600) vs Charles Rosa (+400)
- Featherweight – Makwan Amirkhani (+175) vs Jonathan Pearce (-220)
- Flyweight – Muhammad Mokaev (-500) vs Charles Johnson (+350)
- Lightweight – Jai Herbert (-280) vs Kyle Nelson (+210)
- Women’s Flyweight – Mandy Bohm (-130) vs Victoria Leonardo (+100)
- Welterweight – Claudio Silva (+200) vs Nicolas Dalby (-260)
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- Date/Time: Saturday, July 23, 11 a.m. ET
- Location: London, England
- Arena: O2 Arena
- Where to Watch: Exclusively on UFC Fight Pass
UFC London: Blaydes vs Aspinall Best Bets
The action moves to London this weekend after the UFC made its debut last weekend at the brand new UBS Arena in Long Island, New York. We went 3-for-6 last weekend and aim to build on that momentum with this weekend’s best bets.
Main Event Odds & Pick
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Curtis Blaydes | +100 |
| Tom Aspinall | -130 |
A pair of UFC heavyweight contenders aiming for a title shot top the main card on Saturday at UFC London. Curtis Blaydes (+100) is coming off arguably his best performance since joining the UFC six years ago with his recent TKO victory over Chris Daukaus that earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus since recording a TKO win over Alistair Overeem at UFC 225.
“Razor” has enjoyed consistent support at the sportsbooks, where he has been pegged as betting chalk in each of his 15 Octagon appearances, sporting average odds of -347. However, Blaydes now finds himself in somewhat unfamiliar territory, as he gets set to enter a hostile arena listed as a slender betting underdog.
Tom Aspinall (-130) has taken the heavyweight division by storm since joining the UFC two years ago but has gained only slight momentum at the sportsbooks. The imposing Englishman sported average odds of -388 over his first four UFC contests, highlighted by a speedy first-round finish of Alan Baudot at UFC Fight Island 5 as massive -700 chalk. However, he paid out on odds of just -135 last time out vs Alexander Volkov.
- Blaydes is at his best when he is grappling. An accomplished wrestler since high school, Razor is the all-time leader among UFC heavyweights in both takedowns landed and total control time.
- Despite his prowess on the mat, Blaydes has padded his professional MMA record on the strength of his punching power, with 11 of his 20 career wins coming by KO/TKO. However, he has never successfully submitted an opponent in 20 career fights.
- For just the third time since joining the UFC, Blaydes attempted no takedowns in his recent win over Daukaus. However, he has won just two of his past four in which he hasn’t tallied a takedown.
- Blaydes is as effective at defending against strikes as he is at delivering them. He ranks among the all-time leaders in strikes landed, thanks to an impressive 80-inch reach, and sports a solid 60.1 percent significant strike defense.
- Blaydes’ last three fights were Chris Daukaus (win – TKO), Jairzinho Rozenstruik (win – unanimous decision) and Derrick Lewis (loss – KO).
- Aspinall began his martial arts training as a child, and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. However, he is also a skilled boxer who needed just 84 seconds to record a knockout in his lone appearance in the squared circle five years ago.
- Standing six-foot-five and weighing 256 pounds, Apinall has yet to be knocked down or taken down through his first five Octagon appearances. A big reason for that is his average fight time of 2:57, which is the shortest all-time among UFC heavyweights.
- While primarily known as a power puncher, with nine of his 12 career wins coming by knockout, Aspinall also sports impressive submission skills, and has forced opponents to tap out in two of his past three outings.
- Aspinall has taken home Performance of the Night bonuses in four of his five UFC fights to date. However, with just three of his 14 career fights lasting beyond five minutes, the Manchester native sorely lacks experience in championship rounds.
- Aspinall’s last three fights were Alexander Volkov (win – submission), Sergey Spivak (win – TKO) and Andrei Arlovski (win – submission).
Prediction: Tom Aspinall By KO, TKO Or DQ (+180)
Jack Hermansson vs Chris Curtis Odds & Pick
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Jack Hermansson | -120 |
| Chris Curtis | -110 |
Middleweights take over the spotlight in the co-main event of the afternoon. Jack Hermansson (-120) hopes to avoid posting back-to-back losses for the first time in almost a decade, as he takes on MMA veteran Chris Curtis (-110).
A Sportsbook in eight straight contests, Curtis agreed to this fight on short notice after Hermansson’s original opponent Darren Till was forced to withdraw due to injury.
- Consistent results have eluded “The Joker,” who has fallen to defeat in three of his past five outings.
- Each of Hermansson’s past three fights have been decided by the judges, capped by a split-decision loss to Sean Strickland in his last outing five months ago at UFC Fight Night 200. Overall, Hermansson has recorded 11 of his 22 wins by KO or TKO but has submitted opponents in three of his past five victories.
- Hermansson holds sizable advantages over Curtis in both height (three inches) and reach (two inches).
- Hermansson’s last three fights were Sean Strickland (loss – split decision), Edmen Shahbazyan (win – unanimous decision) and Marvin Vettori (loss – unanimous decision).
- A veteran of 37 pro MMA fights, Curtis is a latecomer to the UFC. He finished Phil Hawes with a first-round KO in his promotional debut at UFC 268, and followed up with a TKO win over Brendan Allen at UFC Vegas 44 and a unanimous-decision win over Rodolfo Vieira just three weeks ago at UFC Vegas 57.
- Curtis has the ability to overwhelm opponents with his punching power, averaging an awesome 7.36 significant strikes landed per minute so far in UFC action.
- A workhorse, Curtis has fought seven times since the start of 2021 and has finished opponents seven times during his current 8-0 overall run.
- Curtis’ last three fights were Rodolfo Vieira (win – unanimous decision), Brendan Allen (win – TKO) and Phil Hawes (win – TKO).
Prediction: Chris Curtis To Win By KO, TKO Or DQ (+195)
Paddy Pimblett vs Jordan Leavitt Odds & Pick
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Paddy Pimblett | -260 |
| Jordan Leavitt | +200 |
For more on this fight, check out our Pimblett vs Leavitt odds article.
Paddy Pimblett (-260) enjoys the benefit of fighting in front of hometown fans for the second time in as many Octagon appearances as he takes on Jordan Leavitt (+200) in a clash of lightweights. Pimblett enjoyed plenty of fan support as he tallied a first-round submission win over Rodrigo Vargas in March at UFC London.
That marked the Liverpool native’s second first-round finish in as many UFC appearances. Leavitt is coming off a narrow split-decision win over Trey Ogden in his last outing at UFC Fight Night 199 that lifted his pro MMA record to 10-1.
- “Paddy the Baddy” has lived up to the hype in his UFC debut, backing up his colorful pre-fight banter with a pair of speedy finishes that extended his streak of victories inside five minutes to four.
- The former Cage Warriors lightweight champ has taken home Performance of the Night bonuses in each of his two UFC contests. However, he must avoid the sloppy starts that he demonstrated in each of those contests.
- Eight of Pimblett’s 18 career wins have come by submission, but opponents have racked up 3:00 of total control time through his first two UFC fights.
- Pimblett’s last three fights were Rodrigo Vargas (win – submission), Luigi Vendramini (win – KO) and Davide Martinez (win – submission).
- Leavitt settled for a split decision in his last outing vs Trey Ogden despite widely outpacing the UFC newcomer in significant strikes landed and control time.
- “The Monkey King” has struggled to defend against the takedown of late, with opponents taking the southpaw to the mat six times over his past six contests.
- Just one of Leavitt’s 10 career wins have come by knockout. Indeed, the 27-year-old does not sport impressive punching power but has submitted opponents inside 10 minutes on six occasions.
- Leavitt’s last three fights were Trey Ogden (win – split decision), Matt Sayles (win – submission) and Claudio Puelles (loss – unanimous decision).
