Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has half a week before sharpening all the tools in his arsenal. He rematches Curtis Blaydes at Saturday’s UFC 304 pay-per-view feature co-mains. Aspinall will look to get to his peak state from last November against Sergei Pavlovich. To that end, the Brit divulges which viral snap is his favorite: Pavlovich or Alex Pereira.
Aspinall saved face with an interim HW title match at UFC 295 last year. Despite half a mindset and a back injury, he starched Sergei Pavlovich with a 69-second KO. Similarly, Alex Pereira dispatched Jamahal Hill during April’s milestone PPV card. Now, the British fighter touches on the couple of snaps that went viral on both occasions.
The Pavolvich one, definitely. All that was with me and Pereira was me watching him go in the octagon…it just looked pretty good. But the Pavlovich one was better – hand on the shoulder, a bit of respect before the fight. It was all good.
Tom Aspinall in a Pre-Fight Exclusive with Bloody Elbow’s James Sweetnam (@Bloody_Elbow)
Reassured, placing his hands on the shoulders of the towering Russian, Tom Aspinall created a viral snap with his pose. Yes; that pose, which made HW champ Jon Jones go on a tweet spree to avoid title unification. Months later, Pereira KOed Hill at 3:14 of R1 to retain the light heavyweight title. The Brit’s death glare went viral while the Brazilian stepped into the Octagon.
Pereira had been hinting at a move up to the 265-pound mark. Hence, this meant quite a tease. However, while he claims it meant nothing, Aspinall posted it on his Instagram handle. It prompted The Sun to speculate he was poking the cause. With a title unification unlikely after UFC 304, he says he’d love to face Pereira. As for now, he is just gearing up for what’s ahead.
Tom Aspinall: Everybody dipping in petrol if he wins at UFC 304
Be it Curtis Blaydes, Sergei Pavlovich, Alex Pereira, or the elusive ‘Bones’ – Tom Aspinall has a stress test ahead. Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) rematches Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event. A rematch two years in the making, he faced a haggardly 15-second technical knockout, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 2022.
The Atherton-born fighter will be cracking shots and callouts left and right if he can get past Blaydes at UFC 304. Hence, he has been preparing hard for it in camp. The 31-year-old recently revealed mashing hay bales as early as 4 A.M. and soaking his knuckles in petrol.
Tom Aspinall explains great efforts taken to edge over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 (Source: X/agfight.com)Aspinall has noticed that the new Official Fight Gloves has less padding; he thinks he will need those hard knuckles for a knockout. More to it, if the Brit gets in yet another horrendous knockout, he thinks other peers would start dipping their hands in petrol as well.
Mate, they’re like absolute stones, …You know what, I’ve seen them new gloves, and they’re a lot smaller than the other ones. There’s a lot less padding on them. I’ve been doing the old method…dipping them in petrol, and they’re like rocks. … If I get a disgusting knockout on Saturday, you better believe that half of the roster are going to be dipping their knuckles in petrol.
Tom Aspinall to assembled scrum at UFC 304 Official Media Day interviews
Blaydes is Aspinall’s lone loss in the UFC after the heavyweight blew out his lower limb. But to that end, it’s all eyes on him without Jones. Pereira put a very violent bow on UFC 303 to retain his undisputed gold. He once again teased a move to heavyweight right after. Aspinall will thus be fielding callouts and opportunities left and right if he can sanctify his win as the “real” heavyweight title bout. Hence, he is putting in all the stops for it.
