Top American heavyweight Curtis Blades has expressed his willingness to fight interim division champion Brit Tom Aspinall at UFC 304, scheduled for July 27 in Manchester.
"I'm hopeful, but I'm not expecting anything. It would be cool to fight him. That fight makes sense. All I have to do is prepare. By July, I'll be ready. There are times when a fight makes sense, but they do something else instead. I wouldn't be surprised if the UFC invites Brock Lesnar to Manchester. I'll be upset, but it won't be a surprise. A fight in England? I don't really care. I like England, even though the ventilation sucks there. They don't have it for some reason. I don't know why," - quotes the words of Blades MMA Fighting.
Recall that the first fight between Blades and Aspinall took place in the summer of 2022. Then Tom capitulated at 15 seconds because of a knee injury.
Chael Sonnen, former UFC fighter and current analyst and commentator, explained why a bout between Cyril Gagne and Tom Aspinall, the interim UFC heavyweight champion, is dangerous for the promotion.
"I think if they bring Cyril back to the UFC and he wins and puts the belt on, it's going to be a problem for the promotion. If Jon Jones accepts, the UFC will have to make a rematch between Jon and Cyril. And my guess is that it will be very difficult to do so, given Gan's performance in their previous fight. I don't think there's any scenario for a re-match of this fight. Ghana's belt is a risk for the UFC," Sonnen said on ESPN MMA's YouTube channel.
UFC promotion officially announced the first European tournament in the current calendar year. We are talking about the numbered event UFC 304, which will be held on June 27 in Manchester (UK). This was announced today by the CEO of the organization Dana White.
Former UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw would like to see the organization's reigning bantamweight champion Alex Pereira fight Tom Aspinall, the interim heavyweight champion.
"He won the middleweight belt insanely fast, just skyrocketed to the top. Then Alex became a champion in two weight classes. Now he has only strengthened his position. I really hope he's allowed to fight at heavyweight. I want him to fight Tom Aspinall. But it's worth saying this - you've seen he's not very good in the parterre. Alex is a champion, but he has a few style gaps that make up for his kickboxing skills. How quickly he's mastered MMA is incredible, but he has weaknesses..." - Middle Easy portal quotes Dillashaw as saying.
Jorge Guimarães, manager of UFC bantamweight champion Alex Pereira, has spoken out about his client's possible fight against interim belt holder Tom Aspinall.
"I don't think a fight with Pereira is a good idea for Aspinall right now. We'll see what happens. I think it's still too premature.
Aspinall is the interim heavyweight champion, why would he risk a fight with Pereira? I don't think it makes a lot of sense for Tom that it's a good idea for him. For us - yes," - quotes the words of the manager MMA Fighting.
Recall that on April 13 in Las Vegas, USA, Pereira defended the title that belongs to him, knocking out Jamal Hill in the first round. The fight became the main event of the UFC 300 anniversary tournament.