Tom Aspinall of England reacts after his knockout victory against Curtis BlaydesBen Roberts Photo/Getty Images
Arguably the biggest moment of UFC 304 occurred in the co-main event when interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall sought to defend his title against Curtis Blaydes.
It was the second time Aspinall and Blaydes had met in the Octagon. Their first meeting ended in disaster when Aspinall suffered a horrific leg injury off of a kick just 15 seconds into the fight.
The Brit made sure their second meeting had a more decisive end, knocking Blaydes out in the first minute of the first round.
The win brought Aspinall to 15-3 overall and bolstered a resume that includes first-round wins over top heavyweights like Sergei Pavlovich, Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, and Serghei Spivak.
At this point, there’s no question that he’s the best heavyweight alive — contrary to what Jon Jones might say.
Jones, the greatest light heavyweight in UFC history, hiked up to heavyweight early last year and claimed the division’s vacant undisputed title with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane.
It was an incredible moment for the MMA legend, but injuries have kept him out of action since, and frankly eviscerated any argument that he is the sport’s top heavyweight. One of the best of all time? Sure. The king of the heavyweights? No way. Not until he beats Aspinall — and the list of people who believe he can do that is getting shorter.
Ever since his win over Gane, Jones has been linked to a title defense opposite former champ Stipe Miocic, who has not fought since he was knocked out by Francis Ngannou in 2021.
That fight is a farce. Jones needs to unify his title with Aspinall’s or risk retiring with a reputation as a great champion who avoided the last and arguably toughest challenge of his career.
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