UFC Fight Night: Luke Riley vs Michael Aswell Preview & Prediction
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Luke Riley finds himself in the co-main event of the evening in just his second appearance with the promotion, facing off against Michael Aswell at featherweight.
Luke Riley vs Michael Aswell facts
What time are Luke Riley and Michael Aswell expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs Murphy? O2 Arena, London, England
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs Murphy? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 270
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs Murphy on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs Murphy? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs Murphy main card
Movsar Evloev vs Lerone Murphy (Featherweight)
Luke Riley vs Michael Aswell (Featherweight)
Michael Page vs Sam Patterson (Welterweight)
Iwo Baraniewski vs Austen Lane (Light Heavyweight)
Roman Dolidze vs Christian Leroy Duncan (Middleweight)
Kurtis Campbell vs Danny Silva (Featherweight)
UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs Murphy prelims
Mason Jones vs Axel Sola (Lightweight)
Nathaniel Wood vs Losene Keita (Featherweight)
Mario Pinto vs Felipe Franco (Heavyweight)
Mantas Kondratavicius vs Antonio Trocoli (Middleweight)
Louie Sutherland vs Brando Pericic (Heavyweight)
Shaqueme Rock vs Abdul Kareem Al Selwady (Lightweight)
Shanelle Dyer vs Ravena Oliveira (Women’s Strawweight)
Melissa Mullins vs Luana Carolina (Women’s Bantamweight)
Luke Riley: Can the Next Gen prospect score another highlight reel KO?
Former Cage Warriors standout, Luke Riley (12-0) overcame a shaky start to his UFC debut against Bogdan Grad, rallying to KO the Austrian in the second frame after a hairy first round. It’s been a theme of the undefeated Scouser’s thrilling young MMA career to date; Riley typically loses the early stages of his fights before uncorking a hellacious knockout out of nowhere. Paddy Pimblett’s stablemate has nine KOs in twelve professional wins and is renowned for engaging in high octane wars; he’s been wobbled in the early goings on multiple occasions, but has yet to face a fighter who can put him down for the count.
Michael Aswell: "The Texas Kid" looks to play spoiler as a moderate underdog
Despite coming up short on the Contender Series against Bogdan Grad in 2024, Michael Aswell (11-3) would eventually earn a call up to the promotion to face Bolaji Oki on short notice up a weight class. While he would go on to lose to Oki by unanimous decision, “The Texas Kid” impressed with his tenacity and heart, earning a second shot in the promotion against Lucas Almeida. Aswell scored the first round TKO to earn a measure of redemption and solidify his place on the roster, although the victory came with a notable asterisk; Almeida entered the fight with a visibly broken hand and offered up virtually no resistance en route to defeat.
Luke Riley vs Michael Aswell prediction
While he’s undoubtedly an exciting prospect, Riley had some notable issues with Grad in his last appearance, which is likely why the UFC are in no rush to give their next potential UK star a huge step up in competition. He’s got excellent striking and nasty KO power working in his favour, but his iffy takedown defense was a legitimate concern even prior to his UFC debut.
However, he should have more than enough to get past Aswell here. “The Texas Kid” is arguably a step down from Grad, having lost to “The Unleashed” on the Contender Series less than two years ago. While Aswell has six knockouts on his record, he’s not a one shot KO threat and doesn’t have the power to make Riley hesitant in the striking exchanges. His best path to victory is arguably to follow Grad’s strategy of hunting takedowns, but he has yet to attempt a single shot in two UFC appearances.
In short, this matchup looks tailor made for Riley to engage in an exciting standup brawl, sans the takedown threat, before eventually scoring the highlight reel stoppage in front of an adoring home crowd. Aswell has never been knocked out, but given Riley’s KO power, momentum, and hometown advantage, I like the Next Gen prospect’s chances of changing that status quo.
Prediction: Luke Riley to win by TKO
