Injured Francis Ngannou "not relevant" to Tom Aspinall ahead of Curtis Blaydes clash

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(L to R) Curtis Blaydes, Francis Ngannou, and Tom Aspinall [Images via @francisngannou and @BT Sport on YouTube]

Tom Aspinall is scheduled to headline a UFC Fight Night in London this weekend opposite Curtis Blaydes. Ahead of his second consecutive main event in front of a home crowd, Aspinall is seemingly unbothered about UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou's future in the UFC is uncertain, having been out of action for a considerable while, recovering from a knee injury. The heavyweight champion has also been eyeing a boxing crossover fight with Tyson Fury, which has become a pivotal factor in his contract dispute with the UFC.

When asked what his thoughts were on 'The Predator' re-signing with the UFC, Tom Aspinall said he wasn't bothered by any of it. The Englishman admitted that he is yet to cover some ground for a shot at the champion, so these issues were of little significance to him.

Aspinall told Daniel Vreeland in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA:

"Do you wanna know my honest opinion? I don't really care at all, like that. I think Francis Ngannou is very dangerous but like for me right now, I feel like he's way above me anyway. Like, I've got so much work to do before I get there."

Barring his upcoming opponent Blaydes, everyone else appears irrelevant for the surging heavyweight contender. Aspinall claims to have singularly directed his focus on 'Razor' since he started preparing for the fight. The 29-year-old further told Vreeland:

"Like, I'm fighting Curtis Blaydes next week. For the last ten weeks or however long I've been training for this fight, I ain't thinking about nobody else. Like everybody else, basically on this planet is irrelevant to me apart from the guy I'm fighting, so that's all I'm thinking about."

Watch Tom Aspinall's interview with Sporstkeeda MMA below:

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Tom Aspinall believes it would be 'stupid' to look past Curtis Blaydes

The British heavyweight has never gone the distance in his 12-2 pro career, topped off by five finishes in the UFC. Aspinall will face his toughest test to date when he meets Curtis Blaydes, who has lost one in his last seven, courtesy of a Derrick Lewis KO.

Tom Aspinall is confident of winning heavyweight gold within a decade but is currently focused on his upcoming opponent. According to the Wigan heavyweight, it would be 'stupid' to look past Blaydes, who he believes everybody has been 'ducking'. The 29-year-old said in an interview with Yahoo! Sports:

“I’m not really interested in looking past Curtis at all. It would be stupid to look past someone that good. Definitely on paper it’s the toughest test of my career. He’s the guy who everyone’s avoiding in the division, I’m completely aware of that but if everyone’s avoiding him that makes me want to fight him more.” h/t Yahoo!Sports

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