Curtis Blaydes views his interim heavyweight title fight against Tom Aspinall at UFC 304 as a true title fight in the division.
Lineal champion Jon Jones has been out of action since declining to defend his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November 2023. Aspinall knocked out Sergey Pavlovic in a last-minute title fight at UFC 295 and has been demanding a unification bout with Jones ever since. Jones, however, is adamant about returning to action against Miocic, who he hasn’t fought in more than three years. With both Jones and Miocic also threatening retirement following their scheduled bouts, Blaydes doesn’t believe the match is a legitimate title fight.
Blaydes previously admitted that ideally Aspinall would have preferred to face Jones in a title unification bout rather than an interim title defence, but Blaydes sees his next bout with “Honey Badger” as the real heavyweight title shot – and as a perennial top fighter, the fight is a reward for all the little decisions he’s made over the past decade.
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad airs Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order now! “An interim fight means nothing to me,” Blaydes told Shakiel Majli. “I believe this is a real title fight, that’s my approach. Just getting this opportunity makes all of my decisions over the last 11 years right – moving to Denver, leaving Chicago, joining Elevation. [Fight Team]… It’s a bunch of little decisions, and this is just the culmination of all of them.”
Blades is not saying for sure Aspinall will beat Jones, but he is confident the Englishman has the skills needed to win.
“I wouldn’t say yes outright, but I believe he has the ability,” Blades said. “When John fought OSP [Ovince St.
Preux]I didn’t think OSP had a chance to win. When John fought Anthony Smith, I liked Anthony, but I didn’t think he had the tools to beat John. [goes] I was there with Tom or went there with him. [Alexander
Gustafsson]I believe they have the tools to win.”
