Tom Aspinall's undefeated teammate faces stiffest test yet at UFC London

Two undefeated fighters are scheduled to compete a UFC London this weekend, and one of them could secure a spot in the heavyweight Top 10 with a win.

Headlined by Former UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady, UFC London is stacked with European talent and includes several English fighters looking to score big victories in their home country.

Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall is currently carrying the flag for U.K MMA after Edwards' UFC title loss against Belal Muhammad last year, but this weekend Aspinall’s undefeated teammate Mick Parkin will also try to establish himself as a future title challenger when he takes on Marcin Tybura.

Mick Parkin fights Jamal Pogues during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

Parkin Looks To Join Heavyweight Top 10 At UFC London

Unbeaten dating back to his eight-fight amateur MMA career, Parkin put together a 5-0 record after turning pro and secured a UFC contract in 2022 when he submitted the formerly-undefeated Eduardo Neves in less than two minutes on Dana White’s Contender Series.

The 29-year-old scored a pair of wins over Caio Machado and Jamal Pogues in 2023 before handing The Ultimate Fighter: Season 30 winner Mohammed Usman his first UFC loss the following year. A first-round knockout against Łukasz Brzeski at UFC 304 secured a “Performance of the Night” bonus for Parkin and put him in his current #13 spot in the heavyweight rankings.

Marcin Tybura fights Jhonata Diniz in a heavyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The undefeated heavyweight will face a massive test this Saturday against Tybura, who has been with the UFC for nearly 10 years and has recent experience stifling undefeated contenders in Alexandr Romanov and Jhonata Diniz.

Current Status Of Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall

A win at UFC London would still leave Parkin at least a fight or two away from a heavyweight title shot, but the 29-year-old likely isn’t in any hurry given that his teammate Aspinall is still waiting on a title unification bout with Jon Jones.

Aspinall claimed the division’s interim belt by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich in 2023 and successfully defended it last July with another first-round finish against Curtis Blaydes, while Jones won the division’s vacant title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 and passed up on a title unification bout to meet two-time Champion Stipe Miocic in a fight that Jones won via third-round TKO.

Jon Jones fights Stipe Miocic in a heavyweight title bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The latest news regarding the matchup indicates that Jones wants six months to prepare for a fight with Aspinall, which raises serious questions about UFC CEO Dana White’s promise that the fight will take place this summer.

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