Manchester MMA star Tom Aspinall successfully defended his title for the first time this weekend, finally burying ghosts from fights passed and celebrating in the most fitting fashion you could imagine: by smashing a load of fast food and naming his next fight.
So wonderfully Northern too, love it.
Aspinall already came into the fight as the UFC‘s reigning interim heavyweight champion, but the main goal was to finally give himself and the fans the fight they missed out on back in July 2022, when the Wigan-born fighter’s match against Curtis Blaydes was stopped just 15 seconds in with a knee injury.
However, the rematch at Co-op Live in the early hours of Sunday morning was even more impressive than anyone could have expected, defeating the American within just a minute of the first round. To make things look even more casual, he then proceeded to eat a pizza only minutes later.
Still in his gear, barely a drop of sweat on him and sharing it with another North West victor on the night, Paddy Pimblett – now that’s an iconic look if we’ve ever seen one.
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It only took one big hit from the Salford-born, Atherton-raised 31-year-old to knock Blaydes for six before he proceeded to pounce on his stunned opponent and earn himself the stoppage.
Not only is Aspinall now posting a fight record of 15-3-0 but this was also his fastest bout ever, beating the 33-year-old within a mere 60 seconds.
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You can watch the full highlights HERE (spoilers: it’s not a long video…) but we can’t lie, we equally enjoyed watching him call out heavyweight champion and UFC legend Jon Jones, simply stating: “I think I’m better than you.”
This is a man who is now more sure of his ability than ever and we’re absolutely here for it.
Elsewhere, fellow Brit Leon Edwards lost his title to US welterweight Belal Muhammad and, as mentioned, Scouse star Paddy ‘The Baddy’ also won with a first-round submission to continue his seven-fight unbeaten streak (five wins, three draws) in the lightweight category.
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It remains to be seen whether Jones will answer back after being called out by Tom Aspinall – now considered by many to be the best in the world – having turned down multiple offers in recent years, but there’s no doubt the fans would love to see it as his next fight.
Until then, please enjoy the Manc champ once again rewarding himself with one of his very own burgers from the much-loved fast food spot over in Chorley.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
29th July 2024 
