Curtis Blaydes was just as frustrated as everyone else following his win in UFC London’s main event, which ended in 15 seconds after Tom Aspinall suffered a knee injury.
“I have no idea what happened,” Blaydes said at the UFC London post-fight press conference. “He landed the kick, I went to counter, he dropped. That’s all I know.
“I’m frustrated. No one wants to win like that. It was a win for me, and I am able to keep my rank. I also get the cash. But without a highlight, did it even happen? Did the fight even happen? Is this going to be in the news next week? Do I have a chance to interview Ariel Helwani about this? Am I going to be on YouTube? Am I going to gain 50,000 Instagram followers? No. No.
It was an unfortunate conclusion to a fight that was supposed to answer plenty of questions about Aspinall’s potential in the UFC heavyweight division and Blaydes’ title chances. It was also supposed to be an important crossroads for Blaydes, a longtime contender who was slotted as the betting underdog despite a sterling 12-3 record in his six-year UFC run.
That part is even more frustrating for Blaydes, because even after the limited in-cage time he had opposite Aspinall, “Razor” is confident he could’ve made a thunderous statement.
“Everyone was hyping up [Aspinall’s] speed. Blaydes stated that he isn’t as fast as the others make him believe. “I know it was only 15 seconds, but every exchange, he got touched. He’s not sparking them because they are stagnant. This is evident in many of his highlights. Their feet don’t move, and that is exactly what I do. The hype is just too much. He’s not as fast as people thought. Obviously he’s also not as big as everyone made him out to be. I felt like I was bigger, more athletic, more explosive, and obviously I think my bones are stronger, because he landed the kick on me and he ended up getting injured.
“So, I don’t really know. It’s a weird night. It’s hard to find witty responses with such a win. It’s hard to be hyped up about it.”
This loss marks Aspinall’s first in his UFC career, ending the Englishman’s 5-fight winning streak.
Blaydes has won technically seven of his eight previous bouts. At the moment, he’s MMA Fighting’s number one. 5 ranked heavyweight in world and was eyeing a big-time matchup against the winner of September’s UFC Paris main event between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa. Blaydes doesn’t want to be disappointed with Saturday’s victory, but he is willing to put aside his grievances and wait for Aspinall’s return to health.
“I’m not risking my ranking [for an immediate rematch],” Blaydes said. I won the fight. When I entered this fight, my vision of the winner was that I would face the winner of [Tai] Tuivasa or [Ciryl] Gane. It’s a great opportunity for me to face those men, and I can’t wait to see Tom Aspinall heal.
“As long as I knock out the next guy, the hype’s back. MMA is like this. You could win four fights in a row, lose a fight, everyone says you suck. You could lose three in a row, win one, and you’re the greatest in the world. So the last fight’s the only one that matters.”
