Outside of the main event, the rest of the card doesn’t stand as one of the strongest on paper with there only being four other ranked fighters on the event.

And with that, one of the brightest prospects in the entire sport, Bo Nickal, has proposed a drastic change to the way the promotion runs its events.

Bo Nickal proposes UFC events start with the strongest fight

Not long after the start of the event, Nickal suggested that the UFC begin their events with the strongest fight, instead of leaving the best fight till the end.

“Here’s an idea for running an event… Start the night with your most exciting, most anticipated match! Then build to your least competitive match at the end,” Nickal began to explain in a post on X.

“The UFC and other sporting events do it wrong. Have your best match of the event on the prelims! Smart,” he continued.

In the past, Nickal has received criticism for his fights being so high up UFC cards, especially for UFC 300 when he took on Cody Brundage, which was part of the main card.

Of course, the 29-year-old’s proposition resulted in questions from fans, with Nickal attempting to defend his idea.

“It’s a great idea! NCAA Wrestling is doing that tonight. Watch live on ESPN!” Nickal responded to a fan who told him his idea wouldn’t work.

Bo Nickal set for the toughest fight of his UFC career

Coming off a unanimous decision win over Paul Craig at UFC 309, in which the majority of the UFC fanbase labeled him ‘overrated’, Nickal is now set for the toughest test of his career thus far.

On May 3 when the UFC lands in Des Moines, Nickal will take on promotional newcomer, Reinier de Ridder.

Last time out, De Ridder submitted fan favorite, Kevin Holland in his UFC debut, coming in as one of the biggest signings for the promotion in recent years.

A win against the former ONE Championship double champion would surely put a lot of criticism surrounding Nickal to bed and would show that he is a potential future champion in the 185lb division.

However, the Irishman got his win back at the O2 Arena on Saturday night, albeit in controversial fashion. Many felt that he had let the decision slip in the third round after losing the second and winning the first, but two judges gave him the nod, resulting in massive boos around the arena.

Caolan Loughran defeats Nathan Fletcher in UFC London rematch

Paddy Pimblett was watching from cageside as teammate Nathan Fletcher took on his old amateur rival Caolan Loughran on Saturday’s early prelims at UFC London. Both men are known for training in Liverpool, with Fletcher taking the win in their unpaid days.

However, the Irishman looked in total control in the first round of their clash, dominating both on the feet and against the cage in clinches. However, Fletcher completely turned it around and looked close to a finish at times in the second as he utterly toyed with his rival.

Ultimately, it seems the lesser-experienced Brit may have tired himself out in his UFC debut as he began to lose control in the third. He rallied well towards the end of the round, but ended up having two scorecards go against him.

Fans were outraged by the result, with Pimblett visibly shaking his head and putting it in his hands as the decision was read. Loughran was loudly booed, and fans across social media branded it a major ‘robbery’.

Caolan Loughran admits career was ‘in the balance’ before UFC London win

After the fact, Loughran was clearly emotional, admitting that he was unsure if he had done enough to warrant the victory. He then admitted that he was potentially on the outs after losing last summer to Jake Hadley in his third UFC outing, but is now sure to get another shot in the octagon.

“I honestly thought I won,” he told Michael Bisping after the fact. “But I wasn’t really confident, I thought he got some good shots there at the end but between rounds my brother said to me ‘Merab him, this fight’s in the balance’.

“My career was potentially in the balance, he just said ‘Merab this b—– you either want this or you don’t. In 2022 me and my brother were up in the nosebleeds watching Tom [Aspinall] and all those boys.

“I swear to god I know a lot of you guys don’t like me because of the Paddy thing. But any lad from Ireland or in the crowd who wants this dream go at it because it is so worth it.”

Whilst Kaue Fernandes’ dominant performance against Guram Kateladze certainly deserved significant praise, UK fight fans were still waiting on the first finish of the night.

The weekend has already seen some highlight reel stoppages with Cage Warriors the night before producing a record-breaking knockout.

The Octagon produced its own when after it looked like Puja Tomar was about to deliver a statement finish to get the fans out of their seats, Shauna Bannon completely flipped the fight on its head.

Shauna Bannon snatches victory from the jaws of defeat with an armbar at UFC London

In the first round of their strawweight matchup, Shauna Bannon was able to largely control Puja Tomar thanks to her unique karate style.

The Irish striker kept Tomar at bay with her relentless side kicks with the biggest moment of the first round coming in the form of a huge side kick to the face.

Despite some kicks that landed a little low, Tomar delivered her own flashy strike in the second, dropping Bannon with a huge head kick with a finish seemingly being just moments away after the technique landed clean.

Bannon somehow survived the knockdown and started to implement her improving grappling game before threatening with an armbar off of her back.

After a slight adjustment to the technique, she was able to tighten up the submission to get the tap after being on the brink of losing just moments before.

Bannon called for a performance of the night bonus in her post-fight interview and whilst the armbar itself didn’t set the O2 Arena alight, the incredible comeback did all of the talking for her.

The 31-year-old has now produced back-to-back wins following a loss to Bruna Brasil on her UFC debut in July of 2023.

Shauna Bannon showed a vital improvement in her remarkable comeback win

Though Shauna Bannon did land some impressive and flashy kicks that had her opponent on the back foot in the first round, her approach was becoming predictable.

Whether or not Puja Tomar would have produced an answer to that question later on in the fight is irrelevant but that might not be the case in other matchups.

Having produced a submission off of her back, Bannon showed that her skillset is improving and that she has more ways to win than just her karate striking style.

After a tough start to life in the UFC, it’s vital that she is making improvements that will make her a more well-rounded competitor at strawweight.

Standing across from him in the event opener was Kaue Fernandes, who since joining the promotion in 2023 has gone 1-1, showing to be a potentially exciting addition to the lightweight division.

‘The Georgian Viking’ is widely regarded as a dark horse at 155lbs having picked up a win over ranked contender, Mateusz Gamrot and having given Damir Ismagulov an extremely close fight.

Khamzat Chimaev and Ilia Topuria watch on as Kutateladze gets brutalized

The Georgian assembled somewhat of a superteam in his corner for his UFC London fight, including former UFC featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, Khamzat Chimaev, and Aleksandre Topuria.

However, the team of elite athletes had to watch on as Kutateladze put on one of his worst performances thus far, getting utterly brutalized by his Brazilian opponent.

From the very beginning of the fight, the 33-year-old was visibly struggling with the unorthodox striking of Fernandes as he chopped down the legs of the Georgian, dropping him with brutal leg kicks.

It seemed as though Kutateladze wouldn’t get out of the first round to receive corner advice from his elite teammates but he surprisingly did.

Unfortunately for him, though, it didn’t make much difference as the second round painted a similar picture and Fernandes continued teeing off on him, bloodying his face and continuing to disable his movement.

After dropping him several times again, Guram somehow made it out of the second round, clearly two rounds down and close to getting finished.

What’s next for Guram Kutateladze following another disappointing loss?

Somehow, the 33-year-old made it to the judges’ scorecards, avoiding a finish but losing the fight comprehensively 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.

Ultimately, during his time in the promotion, Kutateladze hasn’t lived up to his potential and continues to teeter on the edge of being cut.

Now five fights into his UFC career, being 2-3, there is a possibility ‘The Georgian Viking’ may not get another chance to don the UFC gloves.

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is also set to be in attendance; a few hours ago, the British juggernaut shared an exciting two-word tease after linking up with Dana White’s right-hand man.

Tom Aspinall links up with Dana White’s right-hand man

Taking to social media earlier today, Tom Aspinall posted a picture of himself and his father Andy, alongside UFC matchmaker and Dana White’s right-hand man, Hunter Campbell.

The popular interim heavyweight champion shared the image to Instagram with the caption “Stay Tuned,” alongside an eye and handshake emoji, to the tune of Coolio’s Gangster’s Paradise.

Hunter Campbell is widely considered to be one of the most influential figures in the UFC, with the assumption being that he and Aspinall were discussing terms for the title unification fight versus Jon Jones.

Aspinall’s two-word tease comes on the heels of Dana White revealing that the title unification bout is as close to ‘done’ as can be without an official announcement.

“Well, I’ll tell you what I’ve been telling you since day one, the fight’s going to happen – it’s just a matter of when now, and getting it signed and done,” White told TNT Sports: “The fight will happen. It’s gonna happen.

“It’s done, but it’s not done enough to sit right here now and announce it and give you a date – but the fight is going to happen… There’s no logistics. It’s just a matter of getting it signed.”

Ironically, as the Briton was linking up with Hunter Campbell, his heavyweight rival was in Miami for his first day working with Dirty Boxing Championship – in which Jones led an X-rated chant aimed at Aspinall.

Tom Aspinall’s father orders Jones to sign the contract or vacate title

Tom Aspinall’s father, Andy Aspinall, remains a key figure in the English juggernaut’s team and during a recent interview with Jamal Niaz, ordered Jones to sign the contract or vacate the title.

“You are contracted to do three fights a year and I think he’s worked himself into a position where [Aspinall] should fight for a belt… For me, if a guy doesn’t want to fight for the belt, he should vacate it.

“Tom isn’t bothered about Jones… Jon Jones is just another body in the gym, another b– in the shower… [Tom] just wants to compete, he’s a competitor. And as a coach, you want him to compete when he’s fit. You don’t want him just sitting around in the gym.”

Aspinall himself believes that one key part of his father’s training regime separates him from Jon Jones and every other UFC heavyweight contender.

“It’s making the right decisions at the right times. My skillset is good, but so is everyone else’s. Being in the gym since I was 10 years old doesn’t harm [my decision-making], and my dad also talks a lot about training the eyes [which is about] making your reactions quicker.

“I don’t think many people do that, to be honest… I think my decision-making is the best in the division by far.”

Aspinall is expected to attend tonight’s UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady card in London – perhaps we’ll hear more about this meeting with Hunter Campbell? Keep an eye out as Bloody Elbow tracks all the major headlines from the event.