Tom Aspinall came out victorious in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes on July 27 at UFC 304: Edwards vs Muhammad 2. The heavyweight bout, with the interim title on the line, served as the co-main event at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
Their first fight in July 2022 ended in 15 seconds after Aspinall suffered a knee injury and Blaydes took the victory via TKO. The scheduled for five rounds second showdown also ended early.
Aspinall claimed the win by knockout dropping Blaydes with an overhand right and finished him with punches. Referee Marc Goddard called it a day at 1 minute into the first round.
With the victory, Tom Aspinall successfully retained his interim heavyweight title and improved to 14-4. In his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, the 31-year-old native of Salford, England called out reigning heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
33-year-old Curtis Blaydes dropped to 18-5, 1 NC. No. 4-ranked contender of Naperville, Illinois didn’t succeed in his first attempt to land a title.
“First of all, I just want to say massive congratulations and respect to Curtis, what a what, a man this what a human being this guy is,” Tom Aspinall said. And I had nothing against him personally, but we needed to put that one to bed. Before, it was a freak accident and now I got my revenge, thank God.”
“I’m the best finisher in the UFC, man. If I smell blood, that’s it, you’re done. And
let me just say, I just spoke to the bossman, and who wants to see Tom Aspinall versus Jon Jones?”
“I have nothing against you [Jon Jones] personally, but I just think I’m better than you. I just know that I can beat you in a fight. So, I’m coming for it.”
Current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1, 1 NC) of Rochester, New York has been sidelined since last October due to injury suffered in the lead up to his canceled fight against former champion Stipe Miocic (20-4) of Euclid, Ohio.