Tom Aspinall has yet again solidified himself as the UFC’s top heavyweight with yet another knockout win in his hometown.
The Manchester native sent the 23,000+ crowd into a frenzy when he knocked out Curtis Blaydes within a minute of their highly-anticipated rematch on Sunday morning to retain the interim belt. It was one of few exciting moments on a UFC 304 card that later came in for criticism from boss Dana White.
And it now appears that he is heading towards an eventual unification with undisputed champion Jon Jones. The legendary two-weight champion will face Stipe Miocic in November, and is a heavy favourite to retain his belt there leading to a showdown between the two champions.
Tom Aspinall knocks out Curtis Blaydes within a minute at UFC 304 to banish 2022 demons
While there was a belief that Tom Aspinall may be the best heavyweight in the world heading into his first interim title defence, there was still a feeling of unease around this match-up. Back in July of 2022 the Manchester native lost his sole UFC bout to the American after suffering a freak injury.
It was a disaster result in his big UK headliner, and kept Aspinall from the octagon for a year to the day. Ever since, he had been keen to rematch with Blaydes, insisting that the fight was personal even though there was no animosity between the two jovial heavyweights.
After a few big exchanges in the opening seconds, Aspinall managed to drop his rival, and pounced to land vicious ground and pound. He brutally landed a number of unanswered shots, with the stoppage arriving bang on the one minute mark.
Blaydes did protest the stoppage, but it did him little good as the Manchester crowd erupted in applause for their hometown hero. The Brit is now 8-1 in the UFC, with six stoppages and having never been past the first few minutes of a second round.
Tom Aspinall calls out Jon Jones after UFC 304 win
Immediately after the fight, Aspinall was keen to express his delight and thank his home fans. But Daniel Cormier did press him for a message to Jon Jones, the current undisputed champion whose initial title win was in March of last year.
“Let me just say, I just spoke to the boss man,” he began, before garnering another massive pop as he asked the Manchester crowd “Who wants to see Tom Aspinall against Jon Jones?”
Asked for a message to the champion, he replied: “Hello Jon, I have nothing against you personally, but I just think I’m better than you. I just know that I can beat you in a fight, so I am coming for it. This is absolutely amazing.”
Speaking with the press after the fact, he expanded on his callout. “He’ll be very angry about it or the fact that everybody is saying I can beat him,” Aspinall joked when asked if he was surprised not to get a response from Jones on social media.
“But that’s okay. On the contrary to what Jon Jones fanboys might think, I have nothing against Jon Jones as a person, I think I’m the best heavyweight in the world and if he thinks he’s the best heavyweight in the world it’s that simple let’s settle it.
“It’s not rocket science, there’s two guys who are claiming to be the best heavyweight in the world. Let’s settle it, simple as that.”
Dana White appears to guarantee Tom Aspinall will get shot at Jon Jones after UFC 304
In Dana White’s post-fight press conference, the UFC boss reiterated that the winner of Jones vs Miocic will be facing Aspinall in the case that they don’t retire. There is a belief that the former champion, who is 43 and hasn’t fought in over three years, will hang up his gloves regardless of the result.
“Jon Jones is no dummy,” he explained. “He has a very fight IQ and he knows what Aspinall has got and what he’s about. I think we’re going to have to see what happens with this fight with Stipe and see where Jon’s head is or if Stipe wins where his head is.
“Let’s see what they want to do, is it their last fight, are they going to retire? I think if Stipe wins, he probably will. But I think if Jon Jones win I just think that the competitive spirit that he has and the desire to prove that he’s the best [will make him continue fighting].
“Especially when people are saying he’s, you know, possibly the best ever. I think that’s the kind of s*** that fires Jon Jones up.”
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