UFC Fight Night expert picks and best bets: Can Tom Aspinall get a win in his return to the Octagon? - ESPN

Tom Aspinall makes his return to the Octagon to take on fellow heavyweight Marcin Tybura in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday (3 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with prelims at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+) at O2 Arena in London.

Aspinall, No. 6 in ESPN's divisional rankings, suffered a knee injury just 15 seconds into his fight against Curtis Blaydes last July. Tybura, unranked by ESPN, has won seven of his past eight bouts and is riding a two-fight win streak. He beat Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 4.

Brett Okamoto spoke to retired UFC welterweight and ESPN MMA analyst Alan Jouban to get his perspective on the UFC main event. ESPN's betting experts Reed Kuhn and Ian Parker add their insights and analysis on the main event and other intriguing bets they like on the card.

Editor's note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

How Aspinall wins: He's the future of this division. Since his first UFC fight, I thought he might have the best boxing and hand speed in the division. He's on par with Ciryl Gane in terms of his movement and footwork. Aspinall is significantly better than most of the guys in the heavyweight division. And I think there's a good chance this fight against Tybura isn't even close. Both guys like to switch stances, but the level of Aspinall's footwork is going to be evident in the first 30 seconds of the fight. He's going to look like [UFC welterweight] Stephen «Wonderboy» Thompson out there — just ready to sprint and explode at any moment. Tybura is going to have this slower, half-step shuffle, and I think Aspinall will find openings there. Switching stances is good for offense, but can lead to defensive openings. If I'm Aspinall, I'm timing those stance changes and