Speaking on ‘The Fellas’ podcast, UFC heavyweight, Tom Aspinall admitted that his upcoming opponent, Curtis Blaydes is the toughest stylistic match-up for him. The two are set to clash inside the O2 arena in London, England on July 23rd. This is a pivotal clash in the heavyweight division, with Blaydes ranked #4 and Aspinall #6.
It's signed! 🙌
Heavyweights Curtis Blaydes vs Tom Aspinall is your #UFCLondon main event!
🎟️ https://t.co/wg9VkLIZbA pic.twitter.com/IUzLZxy6bK
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 3, 2022
Potential Title Eliminator at UFC London
The UFC London main event could very much see the next UFC heavyweight title contender. The champion, Francis Ngannou is currently out of action, suffering from injuries and will be out of action for an extended period.
With both Blaydes and Aspinall both on good winning runs, the winner of the July 23rd clash could be next for ‘The Predator’. Blaydes is enjoying a two-fight winning run, first outpointing Jairzinho Rozenstruik, before finishing Chris Daukaus in a March main event. Blaydes showed far better striking in his March bout as he was previously seen as ‘just a wrestler’. He lands an average of 6.06 takedowns per 15 minutes, but showed a vast improvement in his striking last time out.
Aspinall is undefeated in the UFC at 5-0. He’s finished all opponents that he’s faced, only leaving the first round once. Without a doubt, his most impressive performance was against Alexander Volkov last time out. In his first main event, Aspinall dominated Volkov to a first-round straight armbar. Volkov was barely able to land a glove on Aspinall, who mixed everything up well, striking with the Russian before snatching a double leg and ending things.
Aspinall did, however, admit that Blaydes is the toughest stylistic match-up for him in the division he also understands that his American opponent will have ‘no idea’ what Aspinall will do at UFC London. Blaydes is extremely well rounded and now that he’s added improved striking to his arsenal, it makes him even more dangerous.
The champion, Francis Ngannou is essentially a stand-up fighter (apart from in his last bout), Derrick Lewis is a striker and Tai Tuivasa is a striker. Blaydes is extremely well-rounded, especially shown in his last fight and therefore offers Aspinall far more difficulties heading into their July main event.
Tom Aspinall says Curtis Blaydes has "no idea" what he's going to do at UFC London https://t.co/xQ27KXFegq pic.twitter.com/dpZvvYl8vO
— ʇsǝɟ_ן!ʌǝ (@evil_fest) May 26, 2022
Will we see the very best Tom Aspinall, or will Blaydes stop the hype train?
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