MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Tom Aspinall has retained the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship A first-round knockout of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 on Saturday night set the English fighter up for a potentially epic matchup with the division’s best, Jon Jones.
Aspinall rocked Blades with a big right hand that sent the challenger to the canvas before finishing him off with a series of rights to the head that ended the fight just 1 minute into the first round – and set up a blockbuster heavyweight bout.
Aspinall, 31, challenged Jones to a unification match. Widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, Jones was sidelined after his last fight in March 2023 with torn pectoral ligaments. His absence created the need for an interim champion. There are still hiccups — among them, Jones has at least one more title defense on deck, and he should be cleared.
„Who wants to see Tom Aspinall v Jon Jones,” Aspinall told a roaring crowd in Manchester on his first trip to the city since 2016.
Aspinall (15-3) then looked straight into the camera and called out Jones.
„I think I’m better than you,” said Aspinall. „I know I could beat you in a fight.”
The first heavyweight might be suspect.
It is clear that it will end in the 170-pound division.
Belal Muhammad won the welterweight crown with a five-round unanimous decision over champion and Englishman Leon Edwards. Muhammad, an American fighter from Illinois, enjoyed beating Edwards in his home country.
„It looks like there’s a lot of tears in everyone’s eyes,” Muhammad said. „We’ve got a real champion in Chicago now.”
His face bloodied, Muhammad (24-3) dropped to his knees minutes into his 11th straight fight unbeaten and wrapped the championship belt around his waist. He has not lost since 2019.
Edwards (22-4) defeated Kamaru Usman to win the belt in 2022 and has two successful title defenses.
All four fighters wore the new in two title fights Golden gloves Introduced at UFC 302, it was designed to minimize eye holes.
The UFC hosted the first live sporting event Cooperative direct, and the UK’s only music-premiere venue was packed with fight fans — very enthusiastic despite the early hour. The official start time for the main card is 3:33 a.m. in the UK, to accommodate the traditional 10 p.m. EDT pay-per-view start for an American audience.
The 304 card was headlined by two highly anticipated rematches.
Both Edwards and Muhammad fought undefeated in 2021, and the unsatisfactory result sparked winning streaks for both fighters. Edwards has reeled off four straight wins, while Muhammad has won five.
Blades needed just 15 seconds to win when Aspin suffered a knee injury in the first heavyweight bout.
„Now, I have my revenge, thank God,” said Aspinall.
Blades went 1-1 in his next two fights. Aspinall had a date with history.
Aspin knocked out Sergey Pavlovich in the first round to become the first British heavyweight to win gold at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden last November.
The interim title fight was added late to the card after Jones tore a pectoral ligament from the bone during training weeks before the fight. He required surgery and his heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic at the Garden was called off.
Jones and Miocic will fight at a future date – with a superfight at the Garden in November – with the winner fighting Aspinall to be crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Jones turned 37 in July and hinted at the Miocic fight when he posted on social media, “We’re 16 weeks away from the most decorated heavyweight fight in UFC history. I feel I’m in a better place Before the start of training camp.”
Against the overmatched Blades, Aspinall earned his 12th career knockout victory — he’s reached the second round only once in his nine UFC fights.
„I’m the best finisher in the UFC, man,” Aspinall said.
Also on the main card, Liverpool native and fan favorite Paddy Pimplett won his eighth straight fight — six with the UFC — as he Submitted by Bobby Green In the first round. Pimblett choked out Green at 3:22 of the first round and announced to the promotion that he was coming for main event fights, letting the lightweight division know that he was coming to the championship.
„Reported,” said Pimblett. „To all your haters who said I’d never make it to the top, now what? Are they going to move the goalposts again?”
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