Last night (Sat., March 21, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to the 02 Arena in London, England for UFC London. There were two reasons to tune in to this event. First and foremost, the main event was a top-notch booking of elite Featherweights given five rounds to demonstrate why they deserve the next title shot. Secondly, there was a whole host of English talent throughout the card, and the London crowd was thrilled to support their boys.
Let’s take a look back over the
best performances and techniques of the evening:
A Confusing Climax
Though I loved the matchup itself, I walked away from Lerone Murphy vs. Movsar Evloev very underwhelmed.
The fight itself was decent enough. Murphy started strong on the strength of his straight punches and kicks, which landed at a decent rate in the opening few rounds. He also hunted the body and countered actively, showing more willingness to box from the pocket than usual. Strangely, Evloev barely tried to wrestle in the first three rounds, relying more on spinning backfists and big overhand swings. Between those flashy moments (that mostly missed) he did land quite a few hard body kicks … and two low blows that ultimately cost him a point.
The dynamic shifted drastically in round four, when Evloev turned up the wrestling heat and Murphy injured his hip. I don’t know how much the latter had to do with the former, but Evloev clearly dominated the final ten minutes. To quickly summarize, Murphy did the better work in the first 15 minutes, Evloev lost a point, and then Evloev clearly captured the final two rounds.
Somehow, that resulted in an Evloev decision win? To my eyes, round three was the swing round that decided between a Murphy victory and outright draw — an Evloev win never should have been on the table!
Rather than harp about my personal scorecard, however, I’d rather focus on the technical limitations that were on display from both men. Evloev has no ability to punch in combination without falling into a clinch or spinning backfist, and his top control was largely toothless. Even injured, Murphy had little trouble returning to his feet when taken down. Meanwhile, Murphy spent way too much time just standing with a high guard along the fence, allowing Evloev to load up on powerful swings (that mostly hit the forearms). As the fight wore on, Murphy started badly overcommitting on his counter punches, which put him in bad position in regards to both punches and takedowns.
Neither man particularly impressed here, and the judges cocked it up per usual. That’s a disappointing end to the night, and I have never been more bearish on Evloev’s chances versus Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Luke Riley Is … Fine?
I don’t think I’m on the Luke Riley hype train.
The 26-year-old earned a well-deserved and fun decision over the relatively unheralded Michael Aswell last night, improving his professional record to 13-0. There were definite positives to his performance, as Riley landed the consistently heavier blows for 15 minutes against a game opponent. He kept a high pace and maintained his output throughout, which isn’t an easy task for a young talent accustomed to quick KOs.
Simultaneously, Riley took quite a few shots despite obvious advantages in speed, size, and power. He walked through those punches without any issue, but that’s not always going to be the case. In addition, Riley looked a bit limited — both men did, actually. UFC London’s co-main event felt like a boxing match in MMA gloves, which works … if you’re Ilia Topuria. For Riley, however, it felt like there were clear opportunities to punctuate combinations with kicks and really build further offense. He has a Muay Thai background after all!
I don’t want to be overly doom-and-gloom. Riley is a young man who fought hard and picked up another UFC win — full credit to him. If he’s going to contend in a talent-rich division like Featherweight, however, there’s some obvious room for improvement.
Too Much, Too Soon
Debuting 23-year-old Kurtis Campbell was not ready for Danny Silva last night.
That’s no fault of his own, really. He’s young and has only been a professional since 2022, whereas Silva had already racked up 60 minutes of Octagon time between his Contender Series and UFC bouts. “The Pink Panther” showed off his skills early on, looking strikingly fast at range with his kicks before showing off a slick grappling attack when Silva pressured.
Clearly, the prospect has skills.
Unfortunately, Danny Silva is not some random English lad on the regional UK scene. He’s a hard-nosed boxer who knows how to wrestle back to his feet and keep punching in combination. Hell, he gave red-hot Kevin Vallejos a serious fight not too long ago!
As the fight wore on, it quickly became clear that Campbell has never faced anybody with Silva’s pace or defensive wrestling. In previous bouts, I’m sure Campbell’s successful takedowns awarded him some control time and a chance to rest if not outright advance his position. This time, he wrestled hard for two continuous minutes, and his only reward was eating a digging hook to the liver.
By round two, Campbell’s feet were a whole lot slower. Silva walked him to the fence and — with Campbell bereft of that rangy quickness — easily unloaded a trio of right hands to knock him down repeatedly and force the finish. It’s a great win for Silva, further evidence that he’s a cut above most Contender Series pickups. Campbell shouldn’t be discounted entirely off the loss, but it’s clear his career needs to be managed well if he’s to make a splash at the UFC level.
A couple bouts against the bottom tier of the division would serve him well in the long run.
Typical Mason Jones
Mason Jones vs. Axel Sola put on the best fight yet of 2026, which is par for the course, really.
Every Mason Jones fight is great fun. He’s a relentlessly offensive fighter, one who chains together kicks, punches, and clinch offense with great fluidity. He is more than willing to throw himself into the fire to keep the pace high, a strategy that often pays off as both men grow a bit more fatigued. In Axel Sola, Jones met a willing dance partner, as the two threw down for 15 whole minutes.
Jones clearly worked on his defense in his time back on the regional scene, but he still found himself hurt early by a Sola spinning back elbow that landed flush. Outside of that moment, however, Jones was consistently throwing a higher volume and putting together trickier combinations. As his shots added up, Sola’s gas tank was drained, stealing away the power in his shots. The bout ended dramatically, as Jones nearly secured the finish with about a dozen unanswered knees along the fence.
Since returning to the UFC, Jones has picked up two bloody wins in strong performances. Win or lose, the Welsh standout is always worth watching.
Additional Thoughts
- Iwo Baraniewski defeats Austen Lane via first-round knockout (highlights): Look, I’m excited for Baraniewski’s career. He’s young, has a deep background in Judo and amateur MMA, and is knocking out opponents in seconds — I have no complaints! That said, we have to acknowledge that Lane does not have the chin for high-level MMA. Baraniewski slept him almost instantly with a perfect counter combination, but I wouldn’t read too much into this outcome other than further proof that the Polish “Rudy” is a bright prospect.
- Nathanial Wood defeats Losene Keita via unanimous decision: There’s no question this was the most high-level fight on the “Prelims,” even if it turned out to be a bit of a slow burn. Wood took the first frame on the strength of his low kicking, really chopping into the wide stance of the taller, longer fighter. It’s never good to be the taller man getting out-kicked, and Keita adjusted well into the second by timing right hands around the guard. Really, rounds two and three were highly competitive, as Wood’s jabs, low kicks, and right hands were roughly equaled by Keita’s explosive power and rangy straight shots. After this win, Wood has won seven of his last eight bouts against consistently strong opposition — give him a Top 10 opponent already!
- Brando Pericic defeats Louie Sutherland via first-round knockout: City Kickboxing’s Pericic maintained his undefeated UFC record in less than two minutes! Both Heavyweights stormed out of the gate and swung away, but Pericic’s blows were landing with more impact. He managed to gain top position and keep his shots firing. Did half of them land to the back of the head? Probably. Nevertheless, the fight was allowed to continue without pause, and Pericic pounded away to the finish with more clearly legal blows.
- Shanelle Dyer defeats Ravenna Oliveira via second-round knockout: Dyer impressed in her UFC debut. The 24-year-old “Nightmare” is a clear physical talent, and she has power on the feet — something of a rarity at 115 pounds. In this match up, she started the fight with heavy low kicks, doing well to avoid Oliveira’s active punches. When Dyer went upstairs early in round two, she caught her foe clean and swarmed, throwing Oliveira to canvas and hammering away with punches until the referee intervened.
