Curtis Blaydes, a perennial heavyweight contender in the UFC, is hoping for a rematch with current interim champion Tom Aspinall, despite acknowledging that just because a fight should happen, doesn’t mean it will.
Curtis Blaydes knows the UFC game all too well. He’s aware that a fight, no matter how much it makes sense, might not happen.
After knocking out Jailton Almeida, a top prospect, in March, Blaydes started pushing for a rematch with Tom Aspinall. Aspinall, the current interim champ, had a less-than-stellar first encounter with Blaydes. He blew out his knee just 15 seconds into the first round.
Blaydes technically won that fight. But he doesn’t count it. He feels there’s unfinished business with Aspinall. They never really had a chance to fight properly.
UFC 304 is scheduled for July 27 in Manchester. A Blaydes-Aspinall rematch in the main event seems like a no-brainer. But Blaydes, a former NCAA junior college national champion wrestler, isn’t celebrating just yet.
“I learned a while ago, I don’t get my hopes up,” Blaydes told MMA Fighting. “I don’t predict. I hope. It would be nice. Do I believe there’s a path? Do I believe it makes sense? Yeah. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. All I can do is be prepared. I’ll be ready.”
Blaydes has been here before. He’s had impressive win streaks in the UFC. They could’ve led to title fights. But he’s never fought for gold.
A lot of Blaydes’ UFC career has been in limbo. The division’s title picture was stuck. Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones were out due to injuries. Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier had back-to-back-to-back rematches. The belt was occupied.
Now, Jones is recovering from a torn pectoral muscle. He’s expected to fight Miocic in late 2024. That leaves Aspinall, the interim champ, as the odd man out. Blaydes is the only loss on Aspinall’s UFC résumé. A rematch seems logical.
But Blaydes can’t say for sure he’ll get the Aspinall fight. “It makes all the sense in the world, but that don’t mean it’s going to happen,” Blaydes said. “A lot of times other matchups have made more sense. Like me and my homie were just talking about when [Dan Henderson], he came out of retirement and he got a title shot [against Michael Bisping]. That makes no sense but it happens.
“Would I be shocked if the UFC hit up Brock Lesnar and was like, ‘Do you want to go to England? Do you want to make a lot of money?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ I would not be shocked if they brought in Brock Lesnar. I would be upset, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Maybe Blaydes is just being skeptical. He hopes the call for the Aspinall fight comes soon. Especially with the UFC’s return to England in July.
England is where Blaydes fought Aspinall the first time. He’s fine with going back. Even if it gets a bit heated.
“I don’t know why people make it a big deal,” Blaydes said. “Because once you’re in the octagon, the venue doesn’t have an impact. The boos? I don’t give a damn about boos. I don’t give a damn about no boos. I’ll do it anywhere.
“If it has to be in England, that’s fine. I liked England besides the lack of air conditioning. They don’t have air conditioning, I don’t know why. It’s weird. I don’t get it, but that’s a thing out there.”
Blaydes seems like the perfect candidate for Aspinall’s first title defense. But Ciryl Gane is also in the mix. Gane won in September 2023. He’s had three title fights in the UFC. His record in those fights is 1-2.
Blaydes has already dismissed Gane as a potential opponent. He says Gane turned down two previous offers to fight him. Blaydes thinks Gane needs to face a heavyweight who’s a bigger threat in grappling. That’s been Gane’s weakness in his two UFC losses.
While Gane works on his wrestling and avoiding submissions, Blaydes is ready to face Aspinall in July. The interim belt is up for grabs.
“You should give him the worst matchup possible,” Blaydes said of Gane. “Because when he has the leverage — a few years ago before the [Francis] Ngannou fight, he had all the leverage, he had all the hype, he was turning down everybody. He turned down me twice. He turned down Aspinall I heard also. So now you don’t have the leverage. I have leverage. I don’t have a lot of leverage but I have more than he does.
“I’m not going to give him shit. I’m not giving him shit. July would be great [for me]. That gives me a solid few months to get ready for a five-rounder.”