Tom Aspinall recently shared his opinions regarding the early stoppage claims made against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. Aspinall brushed those accusations aside and commended referee Marc Goddard for calling the fight to an end.
UFC 304's co-main event pitted Aspinall against No. 4-ranked Blaydes for the interim heavyweight title. The British fighter's career has taken off after he recovered from a leg injury sustained during his first encounter with 'Razor' at UFC Fight Night 208.
Aspinall won the interim heavyweight title with a dominant knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Meanwhile, Blaydes entered the fight with a second-round knockout against Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 earlier this year.
Standing next to Aspinall, Blaydes didn't appear intimidated, but it cost him when Aspinall felled him with a clean left. He followed it with a right and a flurry of ground and pound forcing Goddard to call off the fight.
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During the post-fight press conference, Aspinall was questioned if it was an early stoppage against Blaydes. The 31-year-old responded in a clear-cut manner, saying:
''What kind of idiot is saying that? Like, I dropped him with a one, two. He's face down on the canvas, I've got 250 pounds on his back, and I'm landing seven, eight unanswered shots. Like, where's he gonna go? Do you know what I mean? Where's Curtis going to go after that? There's only one place going to go, and it's asleep. So are we going to let it get to that point?...Great reffing by Marc Goddard.''
Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below:
Aspinall's resounding justification of the referee's ruling demonstrated his confidence in the fight's outcome and his performance. After winning, he didn't take long to aim higher and challenge the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.
Curtis Blaydes issues statement after losing to Tom Aspinall at UFC 304
Curtis Blaydes faced Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 304. Blaydes lost by TKO in the first round after only one minute into the fight. On Sunday, 'Razor' rushed to Instagram to apologize to fans for being selfish and throwing away his coaches' gameplan, writing:
''Sorry guys, I got greedy when I touched him early and threw out the amazing gameplay that my coaches Vinnie Lopez Cody Donovan came up with that would’ve worked I’m sure of it. No excuses Tom was on point tonight. I know this isn’t the end of my journey but da**it, I know I’m better than tonight’s performance. I appreciate all the support truly it’s been an eye opening experience to have so many ppl rocking with me''