Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall will get a chance to avenge his last loss when he faces Curtis Blaydes in the UFC 304 co-main event on July 27 in Manchester, England. UFC CEO and President Dana White announced the match on Thursday in a video posted to social media.
“The (UFC 304) co-main event will be interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, he will be facing Curtis Blaydes,” White said in the video announcement. “This is a rematch from two years ago where Aspinall suffered an unfortunate knee injury. Aspinall has 14 wins, all by finish, and all but one is in the very first round. He faces Curtis Blaydes who recently stopped the surging Jailton Almeida at UFC 299.”
Aspinall (14-3) won the interim title by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 last November. With champion Jon Jones expected to return from injury and take on former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic later this year, Aspinall isn’t waiting on the champion.
Blaydes (18-4, 1 NC) is coming off a ‘Performance of the Night’ win over Almeida. When Blaydes and Aspinall first met in the UFC Fight Night 208 main event, the fight barely got started before Aspinall fell to the canvas holding his knee. Blaydes picked up the TKO win but the first fight only lasted 15 seconds. If ever there was a fight that needed to be run back, it’s this one.