Tom Aspinall to follow Leon Edwards' lead in hiring sleep cycle specialist to prepare for late start to UFC Manchester card
Tom Aspinall is set to make his return to the octagon at UFC 304 next month when he defends his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event. The No.1-ranked heavyweight recently shared that he plans to follow Leon Edwards' footsteps in hiring a sleep cycle specialist to be prepared for the card's late start.
During a conversation with 'Rocky' on his YouTube channel, Aspinall stated (via Championship Rounds):
"My dad spoke with Tim [Simpson] and he said Leon's getting a specialist and he said when you see Leon, ask him, so I've been waiting to ask you because I also have my theory about what I'm going to do and it's completely different to yours. Now I'm basically just going to copy Leon's version."
Edwards responded:
"It's like sleep in the day and be awake at night, but then when I spoke to the guy, he was like, 'you can't do that because you need your body to see sunlight, you need daylight. You don't have to train at five in the morning, you get your body used to about 1, 2 o'clock in the morning and after that you should be fine'. When we fight at 11 o'clock, do we train at 11 o'clock? No, I'm done by 6 p.m. in my house so it's just moving the clock a little bit hour by hour."
Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below:
Due to a scheduling issue, the card will have a very late start. The early preliminary card will begin at 11:00 p.m. local time, while the preliminary card kicks off at 1:00 a.m. The main card does not start until 3:00 a.m., while the final bout of the night is expected to take place around 5:30 a.m.
Tom Aspinall believes Curtis Blaydes matchup is a 'lose-lose' fight
Tom Aspinall has spent much of 2024 angling for the opportunity to face Jon Jones. Instead, he will face Curtis Blaydes in what he recently labeled a lose-lose fight. Speaking to Oscar Willis of The Mac Life, the No.1-ranked heavyweight stated:
"There’s unfinished business there, evidently. Curtis is - I’ve said this all along. I said this before we last fought, which is over two years ago now. I believe that Curtis is the toughest matchup in the division for me stylistically. This is no disrespect to Curtis - it’s a bit of a lose-lose fight in the fact that he’s not that popular, is what I’m saying. He’s not that popular. The guys that you want to fight are the guys who stylistically you match up well with, and they’re really popular."
Check out Tom Aspinall's comments on facing Curtis Blaydes below (starting at the 6:09 mark):
Aspinall and Blaydes previously clashed in the main event of UFC Fight Night 208, which took place in London, England, back in 2022. 'Razor' won the bout via first-round TKO after the interim heavyweight champion tore his meniscus just 15 seconds into the fight, also suffering damage to his ACL.