Tom Aspinall wins at UFC London with TKO of Marcin Tybura in first round after Molly McCann suffers devastating defeat by Julija Stoliarenko

Tom Aspinall re-launched his charge towards the UFC heavyweight title with a sensational first-round TKO of Marcin Tybura. 

The O2 Arena was treated to a short – one minute and thirteen seconds – but sweet demolition of the Polish star and Aspinall looked every inch a future champion. 

He charged out and showed the kind of athleticism his giant frame should not feasibly allow, evading everything coming his way and landing clean, technically pure shots to whichever target he selected.  

The 30-year-old then flashed a punch straight down the pipe – flooring Tybura before jumping on him and landing some heavy artillery, forcing the referee to mercifully intervene.

He sprinted over to leap on top of the cage, overflowing with joy at not only his remarkable victory but managing to banish the demons that have tortured him since he suffered a crippling knee injury in the very same arena last year.  

Tom Aspinall knocked out Marcin Tybura before outlining his plan to claim the UFC heavyweight title

The British star landed a peach of a punch down the middle and followed it up with heavy ground and pound 

Aspinall jumped on top of the cage and basked in the glory of the most impressive performance of his career 

The division has been supercharged by Jon Jones’ return and even though the American teased that he would retire after his clash with Stipe Miocic in October, Aspinall called him out. 

He outlined his plan to claim the belt, grabbing the mic from Michael Bisping in the cage, roaring: ‘I’m different now, I’m going all the way! 

‘That seemed an easy fight but he’s won seven of his last eight – he’s a really good human being and respect to him for everything. Give me that mic. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll go to Paris for Gane vs Spivak. I’ll beat the winner and then I’m going to beat Jon Jones!’

Who would bet against him doing just that? Aspinall looks in ridiculous shape and took home one of the three $50,000 bonuses on the night in front of the 15,000 fans who were in attendance. 

His striking is brilliant as a former sparring partner of Tyson Fury and the ground game is there to match having been trained in Brazilian ji-jitsu by his father from a young age. 

Nobody will fancy facing Aspinall but he will become undeniable on this kind of form. 

Unfortunately, his success could not be replicated in the co-main event, where Molly McCann suffered a hellish night. She spoke this week about having to grieve her last defeat, a first round submission defeat by Erin Blanchfield.