"It’s our card” - Tom Aspinall vows to "be vocal" for UK fans amidst UFC 304's start time controversy
Tom Aspinall has stated that he will continue to vocally support the UK and European fans who have once again drawn the short straw regarding UFC pay-per-view times.
As per the promotion's recent announcement, they are scheduled to host a PPV card in Manchester, England, in July. However, as much as the announcement was met with joy, there was confusion surrounding the starting times for UFC 304, which are set to align with the U.S. prime time for PPV cards.
The main event of the card is estimated to begin at 6 a.m. UK time, with the early preliminary card scheduled to begin at 11 p.m. UK time.
Aspinall, a Manchunian himself, was recently asked to share his thoughts on the controversial start times. He stated that he did not believe that the times affected fighters nearly as much as fans and vowed to try and do something to change the time.
During his recent interview with Ben Jones, the interim heavyweight champion said this:
"It's literally just a case of I have to train in the middle of the night, for a week or so, it's pretty easy. It's a lot worse for fans than it is for me. I think it's terrible for the fans to be honest, for the UK fans. For the American fans and globally it's not too bad. But for UK fans who want to come and support the event it's really bad. I'm gonna be quite vocal about that as well, 'cause I think they deserve to have it on our time. It's our card."
Watch Tom Aspinall's interview below from 12:15:
Tom Aspinall eyes a rematch with Curtis Blaydes next
Tom Aspinall has only suffered one loss in his UFC tenure, although it came in rather unexpected fashion.
The Manchunian was scheduled to face Curtis Blaydes in the main event of UFC Fight Night 208 in London, England. However, 15 seconds into Round 1, Aspinall suffered a torn patellar tendon in his knee, and the fight was stopped.
He has bounced back from the devastating injury with consecutive victories and now eyes a rematch with Blaydes at UFC 304.
During his recent interview with Ben Jones, the interim heavyweight champion said this:
"If the fight doesn't happen between me and Curtis, it is not mine or Curtis' fault. It's the UFC's doing. We both want the fight, we've spoken publicly, we've spoken privately... I want to get that one back." [1:30-2:05 in Tom Aspinall's aforementioned interview]