“I Think My Bones Are Stronger”- Curtis Blaydes Frustrated After Tom Aspinall’s Injury, Dismisses the Hype Behind Aspinall After UFC London

UFC London’s main event between Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes ended in an unfortunate fashion. The fight was stopped after 15 seconds into round 1 as Aspinall had a freak knee injury.

This was the biggest stage for Tom Aspinall to solidify his place at the top of the heavyweight division as Curtis Blaydes is one of the toughest matchups for anyone in the division.

The injury might turn out to be a huge obstacle in Tom Aspinall’s UFC career and his title aspirations. However, Curtis Blaydes’ goals do not change after the disappointing fight at UFC London.

During the post-fight press conference, Blaydes made it clear that he does not want to wait for a rematch against Tom Aspinall. Blaydes wants to get the title shot by fighting the winner of Ciryl Gane vs Tai Tuivasa, which takes place at UFC Paris. 

“I am not risking my ranking(by fighting anyone ranked lower than him). I won the fight. Heading into this fight I envisioned the winner, which is me. Winner of this fight will be fighting the winner of Tuivasa and Gane. So I am not going to pass up that opportunity.”

Curtis Blaydes talks about Tom Aspinall Hype after UFC London

Curtis Blaydes was certainly gutted after the way his fight against Tom Aspinall ended. However, Blaydes dismisses the hype behind Tom Aspinall after sharing the octagon with him.

Tom Aspinall was hailed as the next generation of heavyweights. His wrestling, ground game, fight IQ, and speed impressed the fans when he took on Alexander Volkov. However, Curtis Blaydes remains unimpressed with Aspinall’s UFC journey so far as he said: 

“Everyone was hyping up his speed. He is not as fast as you guys think it seemed to be. I don’t know it was only 15 seconds. But, in every exchange, he got touched. A lot of these highlights are when he is sparking these guys because they are stagnant. They don’t move their feet which is what I do. I don’t believe the hype.”

Even if the fight only lasted for 15 seconds, Curtis Blaydes strongly believes that he was the better fighter at UFC London.

“I felt like I was bigger, more athletic, more explosive and I think my bones are stronger. Because he landed the kick on me and he ended up getting injured.”

If Tom Aspinall heals from his injury in a quick time then we will certainly see a rematch between the two. However, at the moment Blaydes made it clear that he will wait for the winner of Gane vs Tuivasa for his next fight.