Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena will witness two title fights this Saturday when the UFC extravaganza heads to the United Kingdom. Apart from featuring the long-sought-after grudge match between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad as the main event, the July 27 event will also put another Brit in the limelight. Heavyweight interim champ, Tom Aspinall will face a familiar foe in the co-main event fight that is expected to fetch him a fat paycheck.
Aspinall will clash heads with Curtis ‘The Razor’ Blaydes in a rematch that previously ended in a win for the American. Since this is also an interim championship bout, the Brit is expected to earn around $500,000 considering that his last fight with Russian juggernaut, Sergei Pavlovich also got him the same amount as per NYFights.
As for Blaydes, while Saturday’s bout gets him a crack at the interim title, the American is expected to make somewhere between $350,000 and 400,000 from this fight. Also, we haven’t included Dana White’s generous bonuses. Count those in and the UFC will pay a few million in salaries for a single event.
Meanwhile, Aspinall is eyeing revenge against Blaydes, determined to avenge his previous loss and defend his temporary belt in the process.
Aspinall yearns for revenge against Blaydes
With a 14-3 record in his MMA career, 6’5 British heavyweight, Tom Aspinall has been long touted as the next champion in the division. Although Aspinall’s efforts to land a bout against current champion Jon Jones haven’t found much success, the Brit will have his shot at redemption when he faces Curtis Blaydes on Saturday.
The outcome favored the American the last time the two met in the cage with Blaydes winning via TKO even though Aspinall broke his leg 15 seconds into round 1. To add insult to injury, this UFC London loss back in 2022 is Aspinall’s only loss in the promotion.
According to Eurosport.com, Aspinall is locked and loaded to clear the blemish from his UFC career by taking out ‘The Razor.’ Vouching for himself, Aspinall claimed that he works best under pressure, truly believing that he is the best in the division.
