The UFC’s heavyweight champion was watching closely during one fight in the French capital.
During UFC Paris fight week, Tom Aspinall came face-to-face with Ciryl Gane ahead of their meeting at UFC 321 next month.
The promotion’s undisputed heavyweight champion received a hostile reception from the French fans but that wasn’t going to stop him from being in attendance on September 6.
One of Aspinall’s main training partners was set to make his debut on the card, where he’d look to take out a staple of the division.
He did much more than that to continue the night’s remarkable 100% finish rate.
Tom Aspinall overjoyed after Ante Delija makes a statement on his UFC debut
Ante Delija has been one of the top heavyweights in Europe for some time now but his UFC debut was always going to be a tough outing.
Marcin Tybura is an Octagon veteran of 23 fights who has played the role of spoiler on multiple occasions.
Along with facing the current heavyweight champion in 2023, Tybura also recently beat Tom Aspinall’s teammate, Mick Parkin, in London this past March.
It was immediately apparent once the fight started that there was a huge difference between the two men’s hand speed and boxing.
Delija did briefly get held by Tybura against the fence but once they separated again, he went right back to turning on the pressure to find the finish in just over two minutes.
Aspinall, at cage-side, echoed the emotional reaction that his teammate had after opening his UFC account in style.
Ante Delija has announced himself in the heavyweight top 10
Coming into this fight, Marcin Tybura occupied the #7 ranking in the heavyweight division.
This matchup clearly showed that the UFC felt like Ante Delija could compete with the top fighters in the weight class, and he delivered on that in Paris.
In recent years, Tybura has only lost to three of the best fighters in the division, meaning that it wouldn’t be surprising to see Delija suddenly find himself in the top 10 come next week.
It’s hard to imagine that he’s going to be pushing for a title shot anytime soon due to his relationship with Tom Aspinall, but who knows what the future will hold for this division.