UFC London talking points: Tom Aspinall and Paddy Pimblett shine on remarkable night for British fighters

Paddy Pimblett and Tom Aspinall were unstoppable in London

UFC Fight Night 204 could go down as the greatest in history.

It was a remarkable night in London, with seven wins in total for British fighters.

Heavyweight Tom Aspinall shined while lightweight Paddy Pimblett and featherweight Arnold Allen produced first-round finishes, and flyweight fighter Molly McCann staked her claim for knockout of the year.

BBC Sport looks at five talking points from UFC London.

• As it happened: Apsinall defeats Volkov

• Pimblett secures slick submission

• Aspinall submits Volkov in one round

British MMA is thriving

Apart from Michael Bisping's middleweight title win in 2016, has there ever been a more successful night for British fighters in the UFC?

Aspinall, Allen, Pimblett, Paul Craig and Muhammad Mokaev all earned first-round finishes, while McCann and Jack Shore secured impressive victories.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Aspinall, Allen and Craig are one victory away from a title fight in their respective divisions.

UFC president Dana White claimed the event was the biggest UFC Fight Night in history, and he will be bringing the promotion back at a later point this year.

Then there's Leon Edwards, who wasn't on the card on Saturday night but was in attendance at the O2 Arena.

Earlier this week White confirmed Edwards will fight welterweight champion Kamaru Usman next for the UFC title after racking up a nine-fight win streak.

It's a great time to be a mixed martial arts fan in the UK.

Are Pimblett and McCann the best duo in the UFC?

The Liverpudlians had big wins at UFC London

The popularity of team-mates Pimblett and McCann is clear to see.

Some of the night's best moments and loudests cheers involved the pair.

The big screen showed Pimblett's backstage celebration of McCann's stunning knockout, and McCann joined Pimblett inside the cage to share his post-fight triumph.

And they're producing the results to back up the hype, with both fighters now on two-fight win streaks.

They do have some competition, though - Darren Till and Khamzat Chimaev's friendship, told through social media, has been gaining a lot of fan interest in recent months.

Do you think McCann and Pimblett top them as the best duo in the UFC? Get involved #bbcmma.

Aspinall shines bright in the spotlight

Although Aspinall cut a relaxed figure this week, there is no telling how a fighter will react to the main stage until they're standing on it.

The UK has never had a genuine heavyweight contender in the UFC and Aspinall could become one of the biggest stars in the country if he continues on this trajectory.

"Everything I dreamed of and more," Aspinall said of his performance.

"I've seen a lot of media and people saying I'd feel the pressure - other people might feel the pressure, but not me."

With five wins and five stoppages in the UFC, Aspinall is poised to become a top five contender in a division stacked with potentially thrilling fight opportunities.

"He's in the discussion now to fight anybody," White said about Aspinall, with the Englishman saying in his post-fight press conference he wanted to fight again in the UK this year.

Craig is a legitimate contender at light heavyweight

Craig produced one of the stand-out moments of the early prelims with a fantastic triangle submission of Ukrainian Nikita Krylov.

Craig, 34, told BBC Sport before the fight "people will see a Paul Craig they consider a title contender" - and the Scot delivered.

His jiu-jitsu once again rescued him from a perilous position and is a fine example of how quickly defence can turn into attack.

A win over the number nine contender Krylov will see Craig shoot up the rankings. With four stoppage wins in a row, this is the best streak of Craig's UFC career, a real purple patch of form for the light heavyweight.

Craig is calling for a fight with former title contender Anthony Smith in Glasgow and there has never been a better time for the UFC to return to Scotland with him as their headline star.

Mokaev is the UK's brightest prospect

Muhammad Mokaev only needed 58 seconds to claim his first win in the UFC. The 21-year-old was composed and ruthless on the biggest stage of his career and made light work of American Cory Durden.

Despite being the first fight of the night, Mokaev had huge support in the O2 Arena with an electric atmosphere from the start. The Dagestan-born Brit has a long way to go before he can call himself a genuine contender but after the second-fastest finish in UFC flyweight history, the sky is the limit for this supremely talented prospect.

Heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua was one of many blown away by Mokaev's win.