This was a risky move. In just his second fight in the UFC, Liverpool’s Luke Riley was deployed in a co-main-event slot in London – a spot he admitted he had likely not earned.
The UFC’s intent was clear: with a certain friend, teammate and fellow Scouser in his corner, Riley would have extra eyes on him on Saturday. Of course, the man in question was Paddy Pimblett.
See, “Paddy The Baddy” was used in a very similar slot at the same stage of his UFC career. After a successful debut in 2021, Pimblett was third-from-top of the bill at UFC London in 2022, as the O2 Arena’s dome threatened to fall in on itself – such was the explosion of noise from fans. Now here was Riley, having scored a KO on his UFC debut in 2025, co-headlining UFC London in 2026.
It could, and probably should, have been Michael “Venom” Page instead, as 26-year-old Riley admitted on Wednesday. But it was Riley in the end, handed the ball and asked to sprint like his life depended on it.
First came the walk, though. Did Riley’s walkout have shades of Pimblett’s from four years ago? Soft shades, yes, and Riley did need to actively stir up some excitement in the O2’s onlookers while stepping in the cage. But they met Bruce Buffer’s in-ring announcement with support, if not the hysteria they showed Pimblett in 2022, and it only grew as the fight progressed.
They chanted Riley’s name in the early going, seemingly led by a contingent from Liverpool, and as he began to find the timing on his right cross, one distinctly Scouse voice urged: “SMASH HIS HEAD IN.”
Admittedly, Riley’s very success with that punch was a sign of Aswell’s own limitations, given he was caught out by the same strike on repeat. But Aswell, to his credit, eventually began to create angles in a bid to evade, which worked for a while until Riley increased his own inventiveness in response. And as Riley grew more inventive, the crowd grew more invested.
Still, it’s worth noting that Riley ate one clean shot for every two he landed as he sought a stoppage. Earlier in the night, after handily finishing Liverpool’s Kurtis Campbell, American Danny Silva referenced Pimblett’s most-famous quote by jibing: “They always say, ‘Scousers get knocked out.’ That’s all I have to say!” Pimblett’s words have not yet haunted him, and fortunately for Riley, they did not haunt him tonight either.
Ultimately, though, as the fans longed for a finish from Riley, they were left frustrated. Yet perhaps not as much as the UFC. They had contrived this card to enable a golden moment for Riley, but he could not produce the kind of polished performance they craved; he could not shine as they hoped.
Admittedly, Riley’s mission was made more difficult given – for the second fight in a row – he had to follow a defeat by his teammate Shem Rock.
In just the second fight of the night, Rock fell to a decision loss, one day after taunting opponent Abdul-Kareem Al-Sewady by faking a handshake only to shove him at the weigh-in.
After the final buzzer on Saturday, Rock was finally ready to shake hands but it was naive; Al-Sewady understandably refused, and Rock tried to slap him. Security held them apart, and in fairness, the fighters seemed to put their differences aside before Al-Sewady was declared the winner.
“It was a desperate attempt to try to get under my skin,” Al-Sewady later told media of Rock’s general behaviour. “[He’s] been in my DMs for the last month, him and his crew of guys. He came to me at the end and said: ‘It’s all business.’ I said: ‘It’s not all business. What you just did is very disrespectful to the sport.’ You don’t extend your hand for a handshake and then push someone.”
Speaking of pushing someone, the UFC is intent on doing just that to Riley. He is young and unbeaten, but he will grow as a fighter, just as Pimblett has since his watershed moment at the O2.
Even so, maybe it’s unfair to expect of Riley what Pimblett has gone on to achieve, just as the hopeful comparisons to Conor McGregor were unfair on Paddy four years ago.
Still, Pimblett exploded out of the UFC’s blocks in scintillating fashion. Riley? He was left to lament Aswell’s “cinder-block” skull.
