Tom Aspinall is relishing the opportunity to perform in front of a UK crowd once more when he takes on Curtis Blaydes as UFC 304.
After much discussion as to whether the interim Heavyweight champion would unify the division in a clash with current champion Jon Jones, it was ultimately decided that the Brit would defend his interim belt against the only man who has a victory over him in the UFC, albeit in less than ideal circumstances. When the two first met back in 2022, the bout was over in 15 seconds when Aspinall blew his knee out after throwing a kick. It was widely speculated that the rematch would take place one day and it was confirmed this would be the case when an abundance of bouts were announced for UFC 304 last week.
Aspinall spoke with Talk Sport MMA to cover a plethora of topics, of which of course included his upcoming rematch with Blaydes. When asked whether or not he felt that the work he did not get to display the first time round, will be on display in the rematch, Aspinall said he could see it happening but they are both very different fighters from the first contest. He said:
“Yeah, I think so but we are two different fighters now. Like, we've improved a lot the both of us, since then I've got a lot more experience since then, especially big fight experience, which is massive. Since then I came back and main evented in London and then I flew across and won in Madison Square Garden against the most dangerous guy in the Heavyweight division and knocked him out so my confidence has grown loads since then and just everything's better. Everything's a lot better. I'm a new version of myself now, than I was when I fought him last time. and he's improved as well, so whole new fight this time.”
Aspinall has become a staple of UK UFC shows but the Atherton man has travelled extensively throughout his promotional tenure. He is yet to fight as close to home as he will on July 27, when he makes the walk at the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester. As the 31-year-old explained, it comes with both pros and cons.
“I don’t mind travelling, I quite like travelling and fighting but obviously I like fighting at home as well it’s a lot less stress. I don't know. It's less stress in a way, but it's more stress in other ways. There's a lot more pressure on me in this fight than me fighting in New York or Abu Dhabi or wherever. There's a lot more stress in terms of that but it is good. It's good. This is what I dreamt of when I as little boy starting MMA, stuff like this so yeah looking forward to it.”
Although the show is in Manchester, British fight fans will be in the stadium for the duration of the night, with UFC 304 set to take place on a time scale more suited to the US audience. This means Aspinall will likely not make the walk to the octagon until the early hours of Sunday morning. Aware of the fact he will have to change things up closer to fight night, the interim Heavyweight champion has not yet fully worked out exactly what adjustments will be needed. He said:
“To be honest, it’s something that was not quite figured out. I would imagine that for a couple of weeks before we’ll be changing the training time to like 4am I guess I don't know, for right now we're just training as normal but we still like 10 weeks from fighting right now so it’s something I’ve not figured out I’m going to speak to a few more people who know more about than I do. Maybe Bisping, he’s done it, Maybe see how Leon’s doing it. Maybe speak to a couple of doctors, scientists, that kind of thing.”
Watch the full interview below:
