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MMA Preview: UFC 304 – Tom Aspinall (14-3) vs Curtis Blaydes (18-4-1)

Tom Aspinall’s only loss in the UFC happened against Curtis Blaydes two years ago after the Englishman injured his knee after only 15 seconds from the first bell. He’s bounced back from the injury, even winning the UFC Interim Heavyweight title since. On July 27, he’s defending it against his old foe Blaydes.

Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes Odds

MoneylineOdds
Tom Aspinall-310
Curtis Blaydes+250

Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Friday July 26, 2024

When, Where, and How to Watch?

Place: Co-op Live in Manchester, England

Date: Saturday, July 27, 2024

Time: ~10:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: PPV

Tom Aspinall is 14-3 overall with 11 wins by knockout, each of which happened inside the first round. He also has three wins by submission, with only one of those happening after the first round. This happened against Andrei Arlovski in the second minute of the second round.

When it comes to his losses, he’s got one by each method. The first last of his career happened in 2015 when he lost by submission. His second loss happened a year later. It was a disqualification for using an illegal downward elbow. Aspinall’s third and, so far, final loss happened in 2022 when he fought Curtis Blaydes for the first time.

However, this wasn’t really a loss as Blades didn’t do anything to make it happen. Instead, Aspinall twisted his knee and had to quit the fight after only 15 seconds. The injury kept him outside the octagon for almost exactly one year.

He returned in the summer of 2023 with the fight against Marcy Tybura. He won the fight with a spectacular technical knockout in the first round, getting himself a Performance of the Night bonus along the way.

That performance recommended him for the interim championship fight with Sergei Pavlovich. The Russian someone with incredible striking, so many pundits believed that he was superior to Aspinall in that regard. However, the Englishman proved them wrong. He beat the Russian by a KO after only 69 seconds, winning another Performance of the Night bonus.

More importantly, he got ahold of the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship belt, which he’ll try to defend against Curtis Blades on July 27.

Ahead of their first fight Curtis Blades was seen as the betting favorite. No surprise there as at the time he was one of the rising stars in the heavyweight division. He still is someone with great potential, but his odds now suggest he’s going to lose in Manchester.

Blaydes is 18-4-1 overall with 13 wins by knockout/technical knockout. With a background in collegiate wrestling, it’s no surprise that he lands a lot of takedowns, after which he usually goes for ground and pound. What needs to worry him is that his chin might not be too strong, the evidence being that all four of his career losses happened by either knockout or technical knockout. The last time it happened was against Sergei Pavlovich in the first round of their fight in Vegas in Spring 2023.

Wager-Tracker: All Sports Betting Log

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