"I will defend my throne" - Tom Aspinall announces he aims to avenge his sole UFC defeat by facing Curtis Blaydes next

Tom Aspinall's only UFC loss came against Curtis Blaydes. However, the defeat was the result of a freak injury. Nevertheless, he has vowed to exact his vengeance on Blaydes to right the wrongs of his heartbreaking loss. This desire is especially more pronounced now that Aspinall is the interim heavyweight champion.

In a recent interview on the MMA Hour, he detailed his desire to cement himself as the world's best heavyweight. When asked by host Ariel Helwani about which heavyweights, sans Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, that he may want to fight, Aspinall was quick to declare that he would defend his #1 spot against anyone.

"Mate, as I said, I am, I see myself as the number one. The number one is the king, and somebody challenges the king's throne, it will be defended. I will defend my throne. Ideally, right now, I have one loss in the UFC. That's where I'm at right now."

However, Aspinall also wasted no time in singling out Blaydes and the bizarre nature in which their first encounter at UFC Fight Night 208 ended. He does, however, recognize that Blaydes has an upcoming bout with Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 and must win fir the fight to come to fruition.

"I got, I don't know how many wins, but I got one loss where I took an injury in the fight against Curtis Blaydes. If I could get that fight back in my next fight... I know Curtis has a got a big fight coming up with Almeida. If he comes through that fight, I would like to avenge that loss."

Check out Tom Aspinall talking about the heavyweight division (11:48):

While his end goal remains fighting Jones, Aspinall has resigned himself to possibly never sharing the octagon with 'Bones.' Ironically, Jones' recent statements indicate that he has grown more receptive to the idea of fighting Aspinall after the Miocic bout.

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Tom Aspinall has never gone to decision

A detail that may or may not have escaped Tom Aspinall's fans is that the Englishman has never gone to a decision in either victory or defeat. Of his 14 wins, 11 have come by way of knockout/TKO, while three were via submission. Alternatively, he has lost via TKO, submission, and disqualification.

His TKO loss was the result of a freak knee injury suffered against Curtis Blaydes. Meanwhile, his submission loss, via heel hook, took place in his early MMA days against Stuart Austin at BAMMA 21. Interestingly, his disqualification loss occurred at BAMMA 25, which was his last appearance for the promotion.

The Englishman was disqualified for landing illegal 12-6 elbows during his bout with Łukasz Parobiec.