Tom Aspinall made the most of his first title defence as interim heavyweight champion, retaining the belt in a first-round TKO win over Curtis Blaydes in the UFC 304 co-main event on Saturday.
With the victory on home soil in Manchester, England, Aspinall improves to 15-3 (8-1 in UFC) and avenges his previous loss to Blaydes back in 2022.
That fight was stopped in the first round due to a knee injury to the Englishman, and in the rematch, Aspinall made sure if things were going to end early, it’d be on his terms.
The 31-year-old connected with a right jab that sent Blaydes to the ground and then upon the ensuing ground-and-pound assault, referee Marc Goddard had seen enough to stop things just a minute into the opening round.
What’s next for the champion? Well if you’re listening to UFC president Dana White, Aspinall gets to wait for the winner of Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. White said earlier in the week that whoever won on Saturday would get the winner of the legacy matchup between Jones and Miocic for a unification bout.
Aspinall made sure to double down on that idea, calling out Jones immediately after having his arm raised.
“Hello Jon, I have nothing against you personally, but I just think I’m better than you,” Aspinall said. “I just know I can beat you in a fight, so I’m coming for you.”
White and the UFC have not yet confirmed a date for Jones vs. Miocic, although one speculation is it could be sometime in November when the organization typically holds an annual event at Madison Square Garden in New York.
