On Saturday in Manchester, England, Tom Aspinall will defend his interim UFC heavyweight championship against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event of UFC 304, but there will be even more on the line.
In a main event rematch, Leon Edwards will defend his UFC welterweight title against bitter rival Belal Muhammad. That fight will have some fireworks as there seems to be legit bad blood between the two men.
Aspinall and Blaydes have fought before and the first fight ended after the former was injured just 15 seconds into the fight, but there is no animosity. Still, after Thursday press conference, there is renewed interest in the fight.
Aspinall wanted to fight UFC champion Jon Jones for the undisputed crown, but the latter is set to face former champion Stipe Miocic in November. UFC CEO Dana White gave Aspinall and Blaydes some good news during the press conference.
Someone from the crowd asked White if the winner of Aspinall-Blaydes would automatically face the winner of Jones-Miocic, and he said, “Absolutely.”
The entire press conference is shown in the video below. White’s question-and-answer segment begins at the 8:55 mark.
No matter the matchup, anytime the heavyweight title is on the line, the battle will draw a crowd and likely headline an upcoming pay-per-view. Of these four, Jones vs. Aspinall would be the best matchup for business and perhaps even for the sport as a whole.
Miocic-Aspinall, Miocic-Blaydes, or Jones-Blaydes doesn’t have the same pizazz.
Aspinall has been calling Jones out since the former won the interim title via first-round TKO win over Sergei Pavlovich in November 2023. Aspinall’s big moment happened at UFC 295. That is the event Jones and Miocic were initially supposed to meet before a torn pectoral muscle sidelined the former.
Aspinall also has the support of a country behind him, and he has shown the willingness to market himself on social media and to be outspoken about other fighters. Taking nothing away from Miocic or Blaydes–one is a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and the other a perennial heavyweight contender—neither excels in self-promotion. Thus, the buildup for any fight they’re in will lack the buzz that a Jones-Aspinall fight would bring.
Current light heavyweight champion and megastar Alex Pereira has expressed an interest in moving to heavyweight, with a potential fight against Jones on his radar. Jones has also expressed an interest in facing Pereira.
That fight is even more significant than a Jones-Aspinall scrap. It could be argued a Jones-Pereira fight is the biggest matchup that can be realistically made in the sport.
Would White bypass a chance to make that fight in favor of a unification bout between Jones and Aspinall? While White has seemingly committed to it, he could change his mind, though it does appear the promotion would like to see Pereira defend his 205-pound title at least two more times before making the climb to heavyweight.
It would allow Jones and Aspinall to clash if that’s the case. However, with Jones and Pereira turning 37 earlier this month (12 days apart), and with the former’s shaky availability, who knows how long there will be a window to make one of the most legendary fights in MMA history.
There are a lot of fights and wins that need to take place before any of this is more than speculation and discussion. The first is Aspinall’s clash with Blaydes on Saturday.
In case you missed it, you’ll find the viewing information here.
