Curtis Blaydes has made his intentions abundantly clear: he’s fixated on securing another shot at the current interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall. Fresh off his impressive victory over Jailton Almeida at UFC 299, Blaydes is eager to settle the score with Aspinall, whom he faced previously in a bout cut short due to injury.
Blaydes has firmly dismissed any speculation about facing former UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, stating unequivocally, “That’s not happening.” Despite past attempts to arrange a fight with Gane, Blaydes is now laser-focused on Aspinall. He’s even willing to travel back to England to make the rematch a reality.
Curtis Blaydes Not Interested in Fighting Ciryl Gane
Acknowledging the ever-changing landscape of the fight game, Blaydes remains flexible about his options. He’s hesitant to make concrete decisions at this juncture, emphasizing, “I’m not going to make no concrete decisions right now, because I don’t know what’s going on.” However, he’s resolute in his stance that a matchup with Gane is off the table, declaring definitively, “It’s ain’t going to be Gane, though. That’s a no.”
The situation gains further intrigue when considering Aspinall’s potential plans. With the highly anticipated matchup between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic expected later in 2024, Aspinall has the option to await the outcome and potentially face the winner. However, Aspinall has shown openness to the idea of a rematch with Blaydes. In response to Blaydes’ expressed interest, Aspinall left no room for ambiguity, stating, “Don’t gotta ask me twice. I’m in.”
For Blaydes, the opportunity to settle unfinished business with Aspinall takes precedence. Their initial encounter was cut short after a mere 15 seconds due to Aspinall’s unfortunate knee injury. Now, Blaydes is eager to step back into the octagon with Aspinall and put on a full display of his skills.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
