Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes at the UFC 304 weigh-in. Photo by Patrick McCauley/Cageside Press
Curtis Blaydes came out to the familiar “Mortal Kombat” theme tune and attempted to defeat interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in the co-main event of UFC 304 on Saturday.
The two first faced off nearly two years ago when Aspinall went down early with a leg injury and Blaydes won by TKO but the bout wasn’t decided, and the stakes for the rematch are made even higher after Aspinall won the interim title following Jon Jones’ injury late last year.
When the bell rang, Blaydes reached out, but Aspinall quickly got in the clinch with punches, forcing Curtis into the fence. It didn’t last long though, as the two men returned to the center and within seconds, Aspinall had Blaydes down! Blaydes was rocked by a jab and went down. From there, Aspinall pounced on Blaydes, taking his back and landing ground-and-pound, hard lefts and rights.
The referee came to the rescue seconds later and Aspinall successfully defended his title with a knockout decision. Blaydes protested the stoppage but had little basis for doing so given the lack of intelligent defence.
“Hi John. I have nothing personal to say but I think I’m better than you and I know I could beat you in a match,” Aspinall messaged Jones after the match. “Ordinary people can do extraordinary things and I’m proof of that,” he added.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Tom Aspinall defeats Curtis Blaydes by KO, Round 1, 1:00
