English heavyweight Tom Aspinall punched out Marcin Tybura at 1:13 of the first round in the UFC Fight Night 224 main event on Saturday in London.
Aspinall (13-3-0) overpowered Tybura (24-8-0), and quickly for the technical knockout, connecting on 13 of 18 strikes (12 of 17 to the head) compared to 4 of 15 total (2 of 13 to the head) for the Polish fighter.
Aspinall, 30, is a 6-foot-5, 258-pounder with a 9-1 mark in KO/TKO and 4-1 in submissions. He had not fought since almost exactly a year earlier, July 23, 2022, in a stoppage loss at the same London building, O2 Arena, to American Curtis Blaydes after a knee injury in the first 15 seconds that later required surgery.
"This is a whole new version of me," Aspinall said after the fight. "I'm not going to say I'm back because I'm a different fighter now. My body is different and I'm going all the way."
Tybura, 37, is 6-3, 246 pounds, and had won seven of his last eight bouts, including the last two by decision.
It was not all highlights for the hometown fans, as Julija Stoliarenko of Lithuania won by an armbar stoppage to beat England's Molly McCann at 1:55 of Round 1 in a women's flying match.
Stoliarenko, 30, improved to 11-7-2 (0-3 T/KO, 10-1 submissions). The 125-pounder has now won two of her past six matches.
McCann, 33, has now lost two consecutive fights by submission in the first round and fell to 13-6-0 (6-0 T/KO, 0-3 submissions).
--Field Level Media