“There are no secrets that time does not reveal.” —Jean Racine
UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes, who challenges Tom Aspinall for the interim 265-pound strap at UFC 304 on July 27 in Manchester, is not happy about competing in the wee hours of the morning just to satisfy the pay-per-view (PPV) time constraints in the United States.
After all, he’s not a vampire.
But Aspinall, who is certainly no fan of the “terrible” UFC 304 start time, does not believe the clock will determine the better fighter once the cage door closes across the pond.
“If you can fight really well at 12 o’clock, midnight, but you can’t fight really well at 4am, you weren’t that good in the first place, in my opinion,” Aspinall told The MMA Hour. “There’s plenty of times that I’ve traveled across the world and fought in different timezones without even adjusting myself. Now I’ve had a full training camp at home, I’m ready to fight. If that’s an excuse, mate, you’re not that good in the first place.”
Blaydes was good enough to defeat Aspinall the first time they went to war at UFC London back in summer 2022, though “Razor” had a little help from his opponent’s wonky knee.
Not that it stopped Aspinall from becoming “real” champ.
Aspinall and Blaydes will serve as the UFC 304 co-main event, with Leon Edwards defending his welterweight title against Belal Muhammad in the Co-op Live headliner. Elsewhere on the card, Bobby Green will look to silence hometown “Baddy” Paddy Pimblett in main card action, while Arnold Allen and Giga Chikadze hook ‘em up at 145 pounds.
See the current UFC 304 fight card and PPV lineup here.