"Probably not" - Curtis Blaydes unsure a win over Tom Aspinall will earn him a shot at Francis Ngannou
Curtis Blaydes has suggested that he’s unlikely to receive a title shot even if he were to beat Tom Aspinall in their upcoming fight at UFC London on July 23rd. Speaking to James Lynch for MiddleEasy, Blaydes discussed the Aspinall matchup as well as other top-tier heavyweight fights.
With a number of intriguing heavyweight clashes on the horizon, ‘Razor’ addressed the upcoming fight between the No.1-ranked UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane and the No. 3-ranked Tai Tuivasa.
The Gane-Tuivasa matchup is expected to headline the UFC Paris fight card on September 3rd. Meanwhile, Blaydes is ranked No. 4, whereas Aspinall is ranked No. 6.
Both Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa have agreed to fight on Sept. 3, officials confirmed to @bokamotoESPN.
An official location has not been announced, but the event has been targeted for Paris. It would mark the UFC's first trip to France. https://t.co/AoI5nyAE9I
James Lynch noted that Blaydes is coming off a win over Chris Daukaus and could likely beat UK star Tom Aspinall next. Lynch indicated that beating the two best heavyweight prospects, Daukaus and Aspinall, could potentially earn him a UFC heavyweight title shot next. Blaydes disagreed and stated:
“I would be honest; probably not. Even if I come out with a flying elbow or whatever, I will most likely end up getting the winner of Tuivasa and Ciryl Gane. That’s just how it is, so yeah.”
Watch Blaydes’ conversation with Lynch in the video below:
Michael Bisping believes Tom Aspinall could earn a title shot with a win over Curtis Blaydes
The UFC heavyweight title currently belongs to widely-revered knockout artist Francis Ngannou, who holds a pair of TKO victories over Curtis Blaydes. Speaking of which, although Blaydes has won 6 of his last 7 fights and is on a two-fight win streak, the consensus is that he’s unlikely to receive a third shot at Ngannou anytime soon.
On the contrary, many believe that Aspinall – who’s undefeated in the UFC – could fight Ngannou for UFC gold, provided that he beats Blaydes. In an edition of the Believe You Me podcast, MMA legend Michael Bisping opined that beating Blaydes would earn the Englishman a title shot.
With that said, 'The Count' warned that 'Razor' could steal Tom Aspinall’s hype by beating the latter in his native England:
"Tom Aspinall taking on Curtis Blaydes. That's a really tough fight, for both guys... If Tom wins that he has to fight for the belt next. I don't care what anyone else says. That'll be six in a row, if he gets another impressive stoppage. Curtis Blaydes, big guy, hits hard, boxing improving all the time. Best wrestler by far that Tom has fought. Yeah, he would be playing a big spoiler, if he was to defeat Tom in London... Tom has a lot of hype around him right now.”
Watch the full video with Michael Bisping below: