On Saturday, July 27, UFC 304 will take place in Manchester, featuring a co-main event where Curtis Blaydes faces Tom Aspinall for the interim UFC heavyweight championship.
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In an exclusive interview with Telecomasia.net, Blaydes discussed:
- his preparation for the rematch against Aspinall;
- the lack of a fight plan;
- bias in judging in England;
- the assassination attempt on Donald Trump;
- Russian fighters
"I don't have a clear fight plan against Aspinall"
– How did your preparation for the fight go? Did everything go according to plan?
– Yes, everything is good. It’s been an excellent eight weeks of training, and I feel ready for this fight.
– Many people now say that Tom Aspinall is impossible to beat. You fought him two years ago. How much has your approach to the fight changed?
– Physically, my training has been the same. Back then, I was preparing for five rounds, and now I'm ready to go for five rounds. The conditions and sparring were similar as well. The biggest change I made was in my mentality. Obviously, this is a title fight, which adds a bit of pressure and anxiety. But that's always the case; there will always be pressure because no one wants to embarrass themselves on national TV. So, the only thing I adjusted was my mental approach. I just had to do a bit more mental work.
– Aspinall was extremely quick at the start of the first round in your first fight. How will you handle that?
– I don’t know because I don’t have a clear plan. This isn’t football, where there is a set plan: first, we do this, then that. We don’t know. When I fought Jailton Almeida, I didn't have a specific plan. I just wanted to knock him out. I didn’t expect him taking me down in the first round and just lying on top of me. That wasn’t in the plan, nor was knocking him out. I didn’t even understand how I managed to drop him; it just happened. We just have to adjust to whatever happens – it’s already happened.
"If you don’t want the judges making a decision, knock out your opponent"
– There’s an opinion that judges in the UK are very biased, and that you shouldn’t let a fight go to a decision. What do you think about that?
– I can’t speak specifically about judging in England, but that's what I expect. I expect it everywhere I fight. When I fought Mark Hunt six years ago, it was in Australia, and the fight went to a decision. I started to worry: "Did I do enough to win?"
If the fight makes it to a decision, I hope to show the judges that I won at least three rounds. If not, it's my own fault for bringing it to a judgment call. If you don’t want the judges making a decision, knock out your opponent.
– One of the most talked-about events in recent weeks is the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. What do people in the U.S. think about this?
– There are many opinions, some believe it was staged to rally votes. I think it was real. I’m waiting for more information to dive deeper into it. Because we still don’t have enough details about this situation. It’s hard to have a well-grounded opinion on it. But I don’t believe it was staged. I know one person died during the attempt, so I don’t think it was a setup. It’s a terrible situation. If you disagree with a politician, I’m against taking their life. I was very disappointed by that.
– You’ve faced four Russian fighters. What can you say about Russian athletes?
– Speaking about athletes, they are very tough. If you have a Russian opponent, it means the fight won’t be easy. You won’t be able to break them mentally in the same way you might have broken previous opponents. At least, that’s how it is for me.
