Curtis Blaydes landed a stiff jab to open his UFC 304 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event against interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall last weekend in Manchester, but instead of staying patient and building on his offense, “Razor” got greedy.
It cost him the fight — and the chance to usurp the substitute strap.
“Sorry guys, I got greedy when I touched him early and threw out the amazing gameplan that my coaches Vinnie Lopez and Cody Donovan came up with that would’ve worked, I’m sure of it,” Blaydes wrote on Facebook. “No excuses. Tom was on point tonight. I know this isn’t the end of my journey but dammit, I know I’m better than tonight’s performance. I appreciate all the support, truly it’s been an eye opening experience to have so many people rocking with me.”
Aspinall avenged his previous loss to “Razor” at UFC London in summer 2022.
Blaydes is currently ranked No. 4 in the 265-pound division and is unlikely to lose any ground when the updated rankings are released later this week. The 33 year-old heavyweight drops to 18-5 (1 NC) with his UFC 304 loss to the “Honey Badger.”
For more UFC 304 results and fallout click here.