Tom Aspinall’s attitude towards 4 AM fight time totally opposes Curtis Blaydes’ comments: “You weren’t that good in the first place” 

Tom Aspinall has taken the opposing stance to his upcoming opponent, Curtis Blaydes, regarding the start times for their UFC 304 clash. The pair will do battle for the interim heavyweight title in Manchester, England, however the pay-per-view times are still set for U.S. prime time.

This means that the main card will begin at 3 AM on Sunday morning in the UK, something that Blaydes has expressed frustration about. The American stated that the clash didn't have a "real title fight feel" due to the starting time, and also claimed that the promotion would never schedule a Conor McGregor fight to begin so early.

Aspinall recently shared his thoughts on the unusual fight times for his upcoming bout during an interview with Ariel Helwani. He said:

"If you can fight really well at 12 o'clock, midnight, but you can't fight really well at 4 AM, you weren't that good in the first place in my opinion. There's plenty of times that I've traveled across the world and fought in different timezones without even adjusting myself. Now I've had a full training camp at home, I'm ready to fight. If that's an excuse, mate, you're not that good in the first place."

Watch Tom Aspinall's interview below (14:15):

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Tom Aspinall's unique preparation for UFC 304 includes soaking knuckles in petrol

Tom Aspinall has embraced his "gypsy heritage" ahead of his interim title clash with Curtis Bladyes at UFC 304, as he has adopted a technique used by traveling Irish communities.

According to the Mancunian, he has consistently woken up at around 4 AM during his training camp to soak his knuckes in petrol. Aspinall stated that the technique helps harden one's knuckles.

The interim heavyweight champion noted that he first saw the technique while watching a documentary called Knuckles, which focuses on three families within these travelling Irish communities.

He discussed his uncommon preparation during his recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, saying:

"I wanted to resort back to a bit of Gypsy heritage that I've got... I do the old traveler-method of dipping your knuckles in petrol for about 20 minutes as the sun's coming up. That hardens your knuckles. You need to watch the documentary, Knuckles, with the legendary man Joe Joyce." [12:00-12:48 in Tom Aspinall's aforementioned interview]