Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has denied accusations of holding up the division, blaming Jon Jones instead, and is set to defend his title against Curtis Blaydes in a rematch at UFC 304 in Manchester, England on July 27.
Tom Aspinall’s got something to say. He’s not the one stalling the UFC heavyweight division.
He’s the interim champ, set to defend his title against Curtis Blaydes. A rematch, it’s the co-main event of UFC 304. The date? July 27. The place? Manchester, England.
Fans think Aspinall’s the holdup. His response? “That’s not me, that’s someone else at the top of the division.” He said that on his YouTube channel.
He’s not here to play games. He’s here to fight. Loves it. Born for it. Been itching to get back in the ring since his last fight against Pavlovich.
His division’s in a weird spot. Usually, the interim champ fights the champ when he’s back. But Jon Jones is messing things up. “He’s playing games,” Aspinall says.
So, it’s him and Curtis Blaydes. They’ve got history. They fought before. It lasted 15 seconds, wasn’t a real fight. Aspinall got injured, Blaydes took the win. Now, Aspinall’s ready for payback.
Jon Jones? He’s been MIA since winning the vacant heavyweight title in March 2023. He beat Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. Since then, he’s had a couple of injuries. But he’s back in the gym, eyeing a rematch with ex-champ Stipe Miocic.
Aspinall’s got the interim belt. He won it in the first round against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 last November. He’s cool with the Blaydes rematch. After all, Blaydes is the only one who’s beaten him in the octagon. It was due to an injury stoppage in the first few seconds of their UFC London bout in July 2022.
“If I’m not going to fight Jon, which obviously that’s not going to happen right now, this is the ideal situation,” Aspinall explains. He’s pumped, motivated. He’s putting everything into training, into his lifestyle. And yeah, he’s really looking forward to it.