Tom Aspinall accepts Curtis Blaydes’ title fight callout after UFC 299 win: ‘Don’t gotta ask me twice’

Tom Aspinall Curtis Blaydes UFC 299Tom Aspinall was not afraid to immediately accept Curtis Blaydes’ challenge after his terrific victory over Jailton Almeida at…

Tom Aspinall Curtis Blaydes UFC 299

Tom Aspinall was not afraid to immediately accept Curtis Blaydes’ challenge after his terrific victory over Jailton Almeida at UFC 299.

Almeida entered the fight riding a 5-0 streak in the UFC but quickly met his match in Blaydes. The ‘Razor’ only needed two rounds to get it done and dispatched Almeida with a volley of ferocious hammer fists as ‘Malhadinho’ was struggling for a takedown. The victory over Almeida now makes Blaydes 4-1 in his last five fights.

Curtis Blaydes scores stunning win over 15-fight win streak Jailton Almeida with TKO at UFC 299 Highlights
Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger – Zuffa LLC

Unsurprisingly, given his recent record, Curtis Blaydes took to the mic during his post-fight interview and made his desires clear to the world.

“I believe me and Aspinall have got some unfinished business,” he said. “I’d like to get that one next. That’s my next fight, Tom Aspinall.”

Tom Aspinall Responds to the callout by Curtis Blaydes

After Blaydes’ callout, Aspinall hardly wasted any time before responding. See, the two had actually shared the octagon once before, and things ended very disturbingly, with Aspinall crumbling to the canvas in less than 30 seconds due to a sudden knee injury.

So, it’s no surprise that the now-interim UFC heavyweight champion wouldn’t mind revisiting that battle and officially testing himself against the monster Curtis Blaydes.

Tom Aspinall’s most recent performance in the cage saw him win UFC gold against the Russian knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich. Pavlovich entered the matchup riding an insane streak of finishes, and Aspinall shocked the world when he knocked out the knockout artist early into the first. In fact, finishing Pavlovich in the first round makes it four consecutive first-round finishes for the young British champion.

Tom Aspinall

While the fight between Blaydes and Aspinall is not official, fans can hope to expect it around the end of the summer or fall. The match would definitely be of epic proportions, and it would give Aspinall the opportunity to act as a true champion by facing one of, if not the most dangerous, prospects his division has to offer.

Would you rather see Tom Aspinall face Curtis Blaydes, Stipe Miocic, or Jon Jones?

Curtis Blaydes stops Jailton Almeida’s unbeaten run with come from behind TKO win – UFC 299 Highlights

Curtis Blaydes scores stunning win over 15-fight win streak Jailton Almeida with TKO at UFC 299 HighlightsPerennial heavyweight contender, Curtis Blaydes has snapped the impressive roughshod run of 15 straight victories of surging heavyweight force,…

Curtis Blaydes scores stunning win over 15-fight win streak Jailton Almeida with TKO at UFC 299 Highlights

Perennial heavyweight contender, Curtis Blaydes has snapped the impressive roughshod run of 15 straight victories of surging heavyweight force, Jailton Almeida in a stunning come-from-behind win in the featured preliminary bout of UFC 299 tonight — with a series of knelt hammer fists early in the second round.

Blaydes, who had been sidelined since last summer’s knockout loss to Russian contender, Sergei Pavlovich, seemed on the way to a dominant loss of his own against Brazilian challenger, Almeida tonight at UFC 299 — failing to mount any real significant offense in the first round of their featured preliminary bout.

However, surviving a wrestling and grappling onslaught from the Bahia native, Curtis Blaydes sprawled early in the second round following another relentless shot from the Brazilian, unloading a slew of hammer fists on the side of Almeida’s head for a stunning TKO win — eventually slumping the former onto his knees and back for a stunning knockout win.

Curtis Blaydes Jailton Almeida UFC 299
Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger – Zuffa LLC

And after landing himself a TKO victory by way of knee injury back in 2022, Blaydes offered to rematch interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall in his return to the Octagon next.

Below, catch the highlights from Curtis Blaydes’ win over Jailton Almeida tonight at UFC 299

UFC star Jon Jones urged to settle rivalry with Tom Aspinall fight: ‘He could end this by saying yes or no’

Jon Jones urged to end rivalry with Tom Aspinall fight he just has to say yes or no UFCChael Sonnen recently spoke wisdom about the Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall situation and devised a cunning game plan…

Jon Jones urged to end rivalry with Tom Aspinall fight he just has to say yes or no UFC

Chael Sonnen recently spoke wisdom about the Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall situation and devised a cunning game plan to end the controversial saga.

Everybody knows who Jon Jones is. For seemingly eons, he’s been the pinnacle of the world’s toughest sport. He is the crème de la crème of MMA, and that has not came without controversy.

Dana White once said the most brilliant thing about Jon Jones that anybody has probably ever said: that the man could’ve been the Lebron James of MMA. It’s true. From a hit and run on a pregnant woman, to failing PED tests, and more. Jon Jones has been a controversial figure in the game for a very long time. Not Lebron James-like at all (who has never been in any scandals and has always been a great role model).

Now, at the end of his career, there’s more controversy for Jones. Tom Aspinall defeated the terrifying knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich to capture an interim heavyweight title, and Aspinall beat him at his own game. In Aspinall’s own words, he has had his Michael Bisping moment. He knocked out the fearsome Russian and captured the throne.

Yet, he didn’t really capture the throne. Since Jon Jones is the undisputed heavyweight champion, Aspinall captured more of an imitation throne. Like a less meaningful replica almost. Now, Aspinall’s legacy will be forever marred. The electric British man wants action with Jon Jones, but Jones doesn’t want to play. Cue the controversy.

Chael Sonnen Explains how Jon Jones can settle the Tom Aspinall Controversy

Speaking on his podcast, You’re Welcome, Chael Sonnen spoke out about his former rival and the current controversy surrounding him.

“Jon does not enjoy that side of [MMA], he doesn’t understand it,” Sonnen said (H/T MMA Fighting) “He thinks the most money, the most accolades should go to whoever can beat up the most people. So Jon could end it. He could end something that he doesn’t want to keep continuing by saying one word, which is yes. But you want to know something?”

“Jon Jones could also end this by saying one word, which is no. ‘No, I’m planning to do one more. My plans have not changed for you. I plan to fight Stipe Miocic, who’s great. Stipe might be the one to bring me down. We’ll find out that night, but he might not. That’d be another notch and it will be enough. My plans don’t involve you.’ He could do that.”

“Daniel Cormier dismissed effectively Curtis Blaydes. I was there the night that he did it, he did it on the ESPN desk. He’d just got done fighting, Curtis had called him out and Daniel was a gentleman. He said, ‘Hey, that guy’s good. He’s got reach, his striking’s improved, a national champion wrestler, he’s younger, and he’s got a great career in front of him. But he and I will never share the octagon.’ And Daniel didn’t say it’s because it’s not a competitive fight. He didn’t say he was better than him. He didn’t even say he could beat him. He said, ‘I’m a champion, I get [pay-per-view] points. I fight people that have big names. You don’t.’”

“He leveled with him straight up,” Sonnen continued. “Never got into who’s better, whose legacy, who should remembered more. Daniel told the actual truth, which is, ‘I can’t make any money fighting you. You’re a dangerous fight that doesn’t bring money. Winning fights doesn’t get you to me, just so you know. I know they’ve told you that, but it’s not true. I know the magazines tell you that getting a high ranking brings you to me — I’m letting you know now, it doesn’t. Win over the crowd that’s willing to stop what they’re doing, part with their money and time to watch you, and that’s how you get to me. And you didn’t do that.’”

Sonnen Continues Spitting flame

“It was so effective, it was never discussed again,” Chael Sonnen continued. Curtis Blaydes versus Daniel Cormier, when Daniel was champion, was never discussed again. So Jon Jones could come out and say, ‘You’re young and you’re good and I’m not looking for that. No.’ Or he could say, ‘You suck. No,’ but it would still be definitive and he could end this. Or he could say, ‘Yes. Let’s stick with the plan. I have Stipe first and then I will come see you.’”

Sonnen firmly believes that Jon Jones is making this situation worse for himself by not just speaking out and being firm about his choice. Aspinall has been relentless in his pursuit of either Stipe Miocic or Jones and has been largely succeeding in turning fans against Jones (not that he needed much help for that).

“It’s kind of like, why does he not get himself a driver? Why would he not part [with] some money? If you’re giving a stripper $10,000 that you’re never going to see again, why would you not hire a writer for $10,000? He’ll work, he’ll be there the whole year. That’s about what it would cost for somebody to manage your Twitter page — about $10,000 for the whole year for a real top guy, a WWE guy, a guy who has worked in Hollywood. A real top professional writer, that’s about what it would cost. And you know Jon doesn’t have a driver, that’s how he’s got DUIs, and you know he doesn’t have a writer, that’s why he’s got typos.”

“What is it that we’re doing? What is it we’re trying to do?” Sonnen continued. “Jon could end this by saying yes or no. Jon has the power either way. His reasons don’t matter, at all.

“There’s a way to get some clarity, there’s a way to muddy these waters, and there’s a way to do what Daniel did and say, ‘You’re just not popular.’ Whatever the reason is, you’ve got to give a guy an answer, yes or no, or we just keep doing this. Generally, I would be OK [if this feud continued]. Like if this was Conor [McGregor] or somebody entertaining or fun, I would hope that it would continue. [But] you guys aren’t fun. This is boring.”

Do you think Chael Sonnen was on-point with his critique of how Jon Jones has been handling this situation?

Jailton Almeida Rebooks Fight with curtis blaydes for uFC 299 in Miami

AlmeidaHeavyweight grappling sensation Jailton Almeida will return to the Octagon on March 9 for a rescheduled showdown with Curtis…

Almeida

Heavyweight grappling sensation Jailton Almeida will return to the Octagon on March 9 for a rescheduled showdown with Curtis ‘Razor’ Blaydes.

Emanating from The Magic City of Miami, Florida, UFC 299 will feature the first title defense of newly crowned bantamweight world champion Sean O’Malley. After scoring a stunning second-round knockout against Aljamain Sterling in August, ‘Sugar’ will put his title on the line against the only fighter to beat him inside the Octagon thus far, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.

In the only heavyweight bout currently announced for the card, Almeida will look to continue his meteoric rise up the divisional ladder against the man he was originally scheduled to fight at UFC Sao Paulo last month.

Jailton Almeida (6-0 UFC, 20-2 MMA) has been working his way up the division since making his promotional debut in May 2022 with a first-round submission over Parker Porter. ‘Malhadinho’ followed that up with an impressive showing against Anton Turkalj and Shamil Abdurakhimov.

Since then, Almeida has seen a significant step up in competition against the likes of Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Derrick Lewis. After walking through ‘Bigi Boi’ with a first-round submission, he put a beating on ‘The Black Beast’ for five rounds when the promotion returned to his home country.

Curtis Blaydes ready to get back into the win column against jailton almeida

Curtis Blaydes (12-4 UFC, 17-4 MMA) will look to get back into the win column after seeing his three-fight win streak snapped at the hands of Russian knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich.

To his credit, Blaydes’ three losses under the UFC banner have come against some of the heaviest hitters in the history of the division, including Derrick Lews, Francis Ngannou, and the aforementioned Sergei Pavlovich. ‘Razor’ was originally slated to fight Jailton Almeida on November 4 in Brazil, but an ankle injury sidelined their clash with many wondering whether or not it would be rebooked.

Fights currently scheduled or in the works for UFC 299 include:

  • Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera (UFC bantamweight championship)
  • Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Curtis Blaydes
  • Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos
  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Philips
  • CJ Vergara vs. Asu Almabaev
  • Katlyn Chookagian vs. Maycee Barber

Card is subject to change.

Report – Derrick Lewis replaces Curtis Blaydes at UFC Sao Paulo, fights Jailton Almeida in November headliner

Derrick Lewis vs. Jailton Almeida set to headline UFC Sao Paulo in November Curtis Blaydes outFormer interim and undisputed heavyweight title challenger, Derrick Lewis is in line for a return to main event honors at UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo in Brazil on November 4. – as he replaces perennial contender, Curtis Blaydes, in a clash with Dana White’s Contender Series alum, Jailton Almeida.  Lewis, who penned a new multi-fight […]

Derrick Lewis vs. Jailton Almeida set to headline UFC Sao Paulo in November Curtis Blaydes out

Former interim and undisputed heavyweight title challenger, Derrick Lewis is in line for a return to main event honors at UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo in Brazil on November 4. – as he replaces perennial contender, Curtis Blaydes, in a clash with Dana White’s Contender Series alum, Jailton Almeida. 

Lewis, who penned a new multi-fight deal with the UFC following the culmination of his last outing, most recently landed a stunning first round flying knee and ground strikes TKO win over Almeida’s Brazilian compatriot, Marcos Rogerio de Lima back in July on the main card of UFC 291.

Derrick Lewis set to fight Jailton Almeida in UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo headliner

As per an initial report from AgFight, Eliot Marshall trainee, Blaydes will no longer face off with surging Brazilian contender, Almeida at UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo at the beginning of next month, with former championship challenger, Derrick Lewis now facing the former on short-notice in a reworked main event clash in Brazil. 

For Almeida, the streaking number nine ranked heavyweight contender has been sidelined since he landed a one-sided first round rear-naked choke win in the main event of UFC Fight Night Charlotte in May, submitting Jairzinho Rozenstruik to secure his fifth consecutive Octagon win.

A product of the Contender Series back in September 2021, Almedia, who boasts an impressive 19-2 professional record, holds an eye-catching 12 separate submission victories to go with even further stoppages via knockout. 

Prior to his win over de Lima, Lewis had suffered a slew of consecutive stoppage defeats, three on the trot, in fact, in the form of losses to Tai Tuivasa, Sergei Pavlovich, and Sergey Spivak. 

The most prolific knockout artist in the history of the heavyweight division and the entire UFC to boot, Lewis holds notable triumphs via knockout over the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga, Travis Browne, Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, Aleksei Olienik, and Curtis Blaydes to name a few. 

Who wins in November: Derrick Lewis or Jailton Almeida?

Jailton Almeida opens as betting favorite to defeat Curtis Blaydes in UFC Sao Paulo headliner in November

Jailton Almeida betting favorite to beat Curtis Blaydes at UFC Sao PauloIn the midst of a promotional-perfect run, streaking heavyweight finisher, Jailton Almeida has opened as a considerable betting favorite to defeat divisional staple, Curtis Blaydes in November – as the duo are linked to share the Octagon in the main event of UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo. Almeida, the current #9 ranked heavyweight contender, recently […]

Jailton Almeida betting favorite to beat Curtis Blaydes at UFC Sao Paulo

In the midst of a promotional-perfect run, streaking heavyweight finisher, Jailton Almeida has opened as a considerable betting favorite to defeat divisional staple, Curtis Blaydes in November – as the duo are linked to share the Octagon in the main event of UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo.

Almeida, the current #9 ranked heavyweight contender, recently booked his third Octagon walk of this year, and his second consecutive main event outing, having landed in the UFC from Dana White’s Contender Series back in February of only last year.

Improving 19-2 as a professional back in May en route to a Performance of the Night bonus, Jailton Almeida stopped heavyweight knockout force and common-foe, Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a one-sided opening round rear-naked choke win.

As for Blaydes, the perennial heavyweight contender himself suffered a catastrophic result in his pursuit of a premiere title challenge at the weight limit, dropping a first round knockout loss to Sergei Pavlovich in April – snapping a three-fight winning run.

And according to several bookies and markets, Jailton Almeida, who makes his second Brazilian homecoming this year, can be backed as high as a -150 betting favorite already to defeat the +130 underdog, Blaydes before their fight in the sophomore month of 2023. 

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Landing in the UFC in just February of last year following a successful outing on Dana White’s Contender Series, Jailton Almeida – a former welterweight, managed to debut with a first round TKO win over Danilo Marques.

In four consecutive wins since, Almeida landed a submission win over Parker Porter, Anton Turkajl, and earlier this year prior to his win over Rozenstruik, stopped Shamil Abdurakhimov with second round ground strikes at UFC 283 in January of this year on home soil. 

Enjoying a three-fight winning spree prior to his late-April knockout loss to Pavlovich, Blaydes secured consecutive triumphs against the trio of the above-mentioned, Rozenstruik, a stunning TKO win over Chris Daukaus, and emerged victorious after Tom Aspinall suffered a brutal knee injury just 15-seconds into this UFC Fight Night London headliner last July. 

A veteran heavyweight contender under the banner of the UFC, Blaydes has also successfully defeated the likes of Alexey Oleynik, Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov, and former undisputed heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos. 

Recently laying out plans to potentially force current heavyweight champion, Jon Jones’ hand on his potential incoming retirement from mixed martial arts competition, Almeida hoped to challenge for divisional gold before the end of next year. 

“I hope he (Jon Jones) stays,” Jailton Almeida said. “I hope he beats (Stipe) Miocic and said, ‘I’ll do one more fight. Put me in against anyone.’ it would be very satisfying if they [the UFC] put me there. It’s like completing the game. Fighting and beating the all-time best.” 

“This fight would be very difficult for me,” Jailton Almeida explained. “Jon Jones is a complete fighter, everybody knows that. He’s very versatile in everything he does. I’d let things go and focus on his weak spots to catch him. Study the fight early on and try to do my thing to finish the fight.”