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UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall will be the promotion's first event back on UK soil since 2019. The card is full of British fighters who will no doubt receive rapturous applause and support from the local fans. Paddy Pimblett is especially predicted to have a sensational reception.
However, there are several other fighters from the UK signed to the promotion who arguably should have been on the card. Thus, in the following list, we break down five British fighters who should be competing at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall.
Honorable mentions go to Marc Diakiese, Danny Roberts, and Davey Grant. It is also worth mentioning that up until fight week, Nathaniel Wood was scheduled to be competing on the card. Unfortunately, he has since had two opponents drop out of their fight.
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#5. Mason 'The Dragon' Jones - UFC lightweight
Wales' Mason Jones made an instant impact in his promotional debut, going to war with Mike Davis in a thrilling three-round bout. Jones may have lost the fight that day, but he had fans eagerly anticipating his return to the octagon.
Jones' second bout was against Alan Patrick at a Fight Night event in June 2021. Jones dominated the fight, but was robbed of the win after Patrick claimed he was unable to continue following an inadvertent eye poke from Jones. The fight was thus ruled a no-contest.
However, 'The Dragon' finally got his first UFC win when he took on David Onama in November last year, competing in yet another back-and-forth war. A follow-up fight at the O2 Arena would have been the ideal way to begin a win streak for the young lightweight prospect.
#4. Jake 'White Kong' Hadley - UFC flyweight
For a long time, European MMA fans had been clamoring for the UFC to sign Jake Hadley. 'White Kong' finally got his chance in October 2021 when he was given the opportunity to fight on the Dana White's Contender Series against TUF alumni Mitch Raposo.
Despite missing weight, Hadley still competed and showed why he is so highly regarded. White signed him to the UFC, and fans have been eagerly anticipating his debut ever since.
Unfortunately, Hadley has had awful luck with his scheduled fights. Matchups with Francisco Figueiredo and Allan Nascimento have both fallen through, resulting in Hadley being left without an opponent for London.
#3. Joanne Wood - UFC women's flyweight
After defeating Andrea Lee in 2019, Scotland's Joanne Wood was all but guaranteed a shot at Valentina Shevchenko's women's flyweight title. Their fight was scheduled for June 2020, but after Shevchenko pulled out with an injury, Wood opted to stay active rather than wait around.
Wood took a fight with Jennifer Maia in August and was unfortunately submitted in the first round. Since then, Wood has had mixed success. She had a win over Jessica Eye but suffered back-to-back losses against Lauren Murphy and Talia Santos.
Wood has an upcoming fight booked against Alexa Grasso, but bizarrely it has been scheduled to take place the week after the London event. This could be due to the fact that Wood now calls the US home, but she still retains a huge amount of support in the UK.
#2. Lerone 'The Miracle' Murphy - UFC featherweight
Similar to Joanne Wood, Lerone Murphy was also scheduled to compete a week after UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall. That fight has since fallen apart, but the fact that Murphy wasn't on the London card from the start makes very little logic.
Alongside Jack Shore, Murphy is one of the brightest prospects to have come out of the UK for some time now. 'The Miracle' holds an undefeated record of 11-0-1, having picked up wins over Makwan Amirkhani, Douglas Silva de Andrade, and Ricardo Ramos.
Murphy has the skillset to climb to the top of the featherweight division. However, he needs a push to edge him into the rankings. A big win in front of a London crowd would have done exactly that.
#1. Darren 'The Gorilla' Till - UFC middleweight
The UFC's poster boy for UK audiences over the past few years, Darren Till has already headlined multiple events in England. However, 'The Gorilla' will not even feature on the undercard of this weekend's London event.
Instead, the card will be headlined by one of Till's Team Kaobon sparring partners, Tom Aspinall. After his loss to Derek Brunson, Till has spent time focusing on recovery, before honing his skills alongside Khamzat Chimaev at the Allstars Training Center in Sweden.
Till is 1-2 since moving to the middleweight division and is currently on a two-fight losing streak. There were initial rumors that Till would headline the London card in a bout against Uriah Hall, although nothing ever came of it. It is still a missed opportunity though, as a Darren Till walkout with UK fans in attendance is one of the greatest spectacles in modern MMA.
