Thanks to Leon Edwards, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has a plan for handling the UFC 304 time slot. Reigning welterweight Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards rematches Belal Muhammad in the main event. The Brit interim heavyweight handles Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event. Prone to training at the UFC PI, the non-standard timing would have circumcized their fight camp hours.
Interim heavyweight king Tom Aspinall attended boxing fame Savannah Marshall’s PFL debut. Having trained with Manchester native Tyson Fury before, the orthodox fighter helped her transition, dabbling in both worlds. While at Newcastle, he spoke to Title Sports Network about Edwards’ ‘secret weapon.’
Yeah, so Leon has employed a sleep specialist, …I knew about this before because I know Leon’s manager, so I was kind of like ‘I’m not going to set anything in stone in my mind [for my routine] until I spoke to Leon on what he’s doing’…basically gave me a full breakdown of his sleep pattern. So, I’m essentially going to copy Leon without having to pay for a sleep specialist; that’s the plan…
Tom Aspinall to Kaz Crossley of Title Sports Network (@TitleSportsNetwork)
UFC 304’s main card commences at 3 a.m. BST (10 p.m. ET) on ESPN+ PPV. This follows standard streaming times for domestic viewers. The ungodly half-asleep hour poses challenges for even local fighters. No. 4-ranked heavyweight Blaydes recently barbed down the promotion for such a schedule. Leon Edwards and Aspinall have had their concerns as well, but no more.
As a matter of fact, the 14-3 Brit rallied for a time change before as well. He told as much, speaking to Kacper Rosolowski and Denis Shkuratov for Submission Radio (@SubmissionRadio). However, those pleas fell on deaf ears as top brass had an obligation to follow to ensure PPV sales. Concurrently, Aspinall delved into his plans further.
Tom Aspinall discusses camp plans and expects timing to have more impact on fans than fighters
Tom Aspinall defends his guard in a title rematch in the July 27 co-main event at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. Aspinall and Edwards will headline the Manchester pay-per-view event at a slot at about 10 p.m. ET, which is 3 a.m. in England. Contrarily, top bill fighters at the end of the card would drag on till five or six in the morning.
Tom Aspinall and Leon Edwards have the perfect recipe for UFC 304 (Source: heavy,com/X)Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards got together with the English heavyweight for the latter’s YouTube channel recently. The duo discussed UFC 304 predictions and start times. The 31-year-old nudged about following Edwards’ routine.
I have a mad theory on what I was going to do, and it’s completely different to [his], Now I’m just going to copy Leon’s version…My first thought was I’m going to go to Vegas, And we’ll do the last four weeks of the camp there and I’m going to come back…And then I thought, ‘You know what? Being 6’5, sitting on a plane for 12 hours, that alone fu*ks you up.’ So I don’t think I’m going to do that — [to Leon] I think I’m going to copy your model…
Tom Aspinall via his Official YouTube channel – UFC 304 Chat + Predictions with Leon Edwards | (@tomaspinallofficial)
Aspinall had planned to train at the Las Vegas UFC PI, as usual. But the 6′ 5″, 261-pound-frame heavyweight soon understood the jet lag it would cause. ‘Rocky’ said he had similar plans; his specialist told him to acquaint himself with training in daylight. Unlike fighters, though, Aspinall thinks live audiences have it tougher. Fighters have an adrenaline going; fans do not. All in all, the event can see some peculiar pitfalls.
