Curtis Blaydes Feels Tom Aspinall Rematch is Destiny
During an interview with Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie.com, Curtis Blaydes discussed getting a chance to fight Tom Aspinall again two years later.
“I knew that I would have another opportunity to fight him again,” Blaydes told MMA Junkie. “Whether or not it was for a belt, I wouldn’t have been able to guess it. But I think it’s a little poetic that it is for a belt.”
Blaydes isn’t known to have personal issues with his opponents, and Tom certainly is no exception. “Razor” made it clear that his bout with Aspinall is strictly business.
“He’s a cool dude,” Blaydes said. “There’s no beef. I don’t know if I’ll be able to, but I would like to disperse the negative narrative that you have to hate the guy you’re gonna fight. I’ve been an athlete since I was 9, never hated any of my opponents, won a lot – football, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, MMA. Never hated anybody. You don’t have to hate somebody to physically compete and do your best to win. I know he’s gonna do his best to knock me out; I’m gonna do my best to knock him out. But there’s no animosity behind it. It’s just that’s his job, that’s my job.”
UFC 304 will be headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship fight. Titleholder Leon Edwards will look for his third successful title defense when he takes on Belal Muhammad.