"I planned on this being a war" - Curtis Blaydes shares personal commitments lined up before he gets back to the gym
UFC Fight Night's main event heavyweight clash between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall came to an abrupt end. The Englishman ended up sustaining a knee injury 15 seconds into the first round without any action having transpired between the two. Consequently, the contest was recorded as a win by TKO for Blaydes.
Following his unsatisfactory win, through no fault of his own, Blaydes responded to Sportskeeda MMA's Tim Wheaton on being asked when he expects to be back home with family:
"I planned on this being a war and I have planned on taking off the next few weeks. I have a lot of things scheduled. I have a wedding, one of my homies from college, he's got a wedding I gotta get to. I gotta go spend some time with my daughter. Gotta go back to Chicago, handle some business. So I won't really be in the gym for most of August."
His answer clearly outlined his plans as 'Razor' does not plan on training during the month of August. The Illinois native anticipated a tough test against Tom Aspinall and planned accordingly, but despite the fight not following his expectations, he will stick to his original plans.
Check out Blaydes' press conference appearance on Sportskeeda MMA's YouTube channel:
Curtis Blaydes was hoping to prove he is "ready for a title shot"
Curtis Blaydes was keen to show the world exactly what he is capable of against the explosive Tom Aspinall, who is the No. 6 ranked heavyweight in the division. A straightforward win rather than an unfortunate one like this would have been the perfect platform to demand a title shot off.
Expressing the same during his post-fight interview, Blaydes stated:
"We didn't even fight. I wanted to come here and prove a statement. Aspinall's legit, I know a win over him would have shown the world that I'm ready for a title shot."
Check out Blaydes' full post-fight interview:
A professional since 2014, the only three losses that 'Razor' has suffered in his career have come against two of the heaviest hitters in the division, Derrick Lewis and current heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Interestingly, two of these three losses have come against Ngannou.
Having polished his striking and dialing in his grappling in recent years, 'Razor' has proven himself against multiple top heavyweights such as Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Currently on a three-fight winning streak, Curtis Blaydes will be hoping to secure a fight against the winner of Gane vs. Tuivasa, which is scheduled for the month of September.