Tom Aspinall retains UFC title, leaving door open for battle with Jon Jones

MANCHESTER, England — Tom Aspinall retained the UFC interim heavyweight championship with a punishing first-round knockout of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 on Saturday night, setting up the English fighter for a potential colossal matchup with division great Jon Jones.

Aspinall rocked Blaydes with a big right hand that sent the challenger to the canvas before he finished him off with a series of rights to the head that ended the fight at just 1 minute of the first round — and put a blockbuster heavyweight bout into focus.

The 31-year-old Aspinall challenged Jones to a unification bout.

Jones, widely regarded as one of the best MMA fighters of all time, has been sidelined by torn pectoral tendon since his last fight in March 2023.

His absence forced the need for an interim champion.

There are still hiccups — among them, Jones has at least one more title defense on deck, and he must be cleared.

“Who wants to see Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones,” Aspinall told a roaring crowd in Manchester in UFC’s first trip to the city since 2016.

UFC 304 predictions: Full prelim and main card picks from Manchester, England

Aspinall (15-3) then looked straight into a camera and called out Jones.

“I just think I’m better than you,” Aspinall said. “I know I can beat you in a fight.”

The top heavyweight may be in doubt.

It’s as clear as can be in the 170-pound division.

Belal Muhammad won the welterweight crown with a five-round unanimous decision victory against champion and Englishmen Leon Edwards. Muhammad, an American fighter out of Illinois, relished beating up Edwards in his home country.

“It sounds like all the people booing have a lot of tears in their eyes,” Muhammad said. “We’ve got a real champion in Chicago now.”

His face bloodied, Muhammad (24-3) dropped to his knees moments after he remained unbeaten in his 11th straight fight and had the championship belt wrapped around his waist. He hasn’t lost since 2019.

Edwards (22-4) defeated Kamaru Usman to win the belt in 2022 and had two successful title defenses.

Interim champ Tom Aspinall’s full-circle UFC 304 moment in hometown ‘absolute dream’

All four fighters in the two title fights wore the new gold gloves introduced at UFC 302 designed to minimize eye pokes.

UFC ran the first live sporting event at Co-op Live, and the UK’s only music-first arena was jammed with fight fans — wildly enthusiastic despite the early start time. In order to accommodate the traditional 10 p.m. EDT pay-per-view start for an American audience, the main card’s official start time was 3:33 a.m in England.

The 304 card was headlined by two anticipated rematches.

Edwards and Muhammad fought to a no-contest in 2021, an unsatisfying result that sparked winning streaks for both fighters. Edwards reeled off four consecutive wins, while Muhammad won five straight.

Blaydes needed only 15 seconds to win in the first heavyweight contest when Aspinall suffered a knee injury.

“Now, I’ve got my revenge, thank God,” Aspinall said.

Blaydes went 1-1 over his next two fights. Aspinall had a date with history.

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Aspinall knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round to become the first British heavyweight to win gold at UFC 295 last November at Madison Square Garden.

The interim title fight was a late addition to the card after Jones tore a pectoral tendon off the bone during training only weeks ahead of the fight. He needed surgery and his heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic at the Garden was called off.

Jones and Miocic will fight at a future date — with a potential showdown November at the Garden in the running for the super fight — and the winner will fight Aspinall to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion.

Jones turned 37 in July and hinted at the Miocic fight when he posted on social media at the time he was, “16 weeks away from fighting the most decorated heavyweight in UFC history. I feel like I’m a great spot right before training camp ramps up.”

Against the overmatched Blaydes, Aspinall earned his 12th career knockout win — he has made it to the second round just once in his nine UFC fights.

“I’m the best finisher in the UFC, man,” Aspinall said.

Also on the main card, Liverpool native and fan favorite Paddy Pimblett won his eighth straight fight — six with UFC — when he submitted Bobby Green in the first round.

Pimblett choked out Green at 3:22 of the first round, and put the promotion on notice he was coming for main event fights and let the lightweight division know that he was coming for the championship.

“Statement made,” Pimblett said. “To all you haters out there that said I’d never get a ranking, what now? Are they going to move the goal posts again?”

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