MIAMI – [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] wants nothing to do with former UFC interim heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane, but is all in on the fighter currently holding a piece of the title.
Blaydes returned to the win column by scoring a second-round hammerfist finish of Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 at Kaseya Center, and now has his sights set on a rematch with current interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
According to Blaydes, he already tried to make a fight with Gane happen in the past, but it did not come together. So for “Razor,” it’s all about Aspinall right now, and he’s willing to go back to England to make it happen.
“I feel like you guys are trying to edge me towards Gane. That’s not happening,” Blaydes said. “I asked for him already in the past. He missed that bus. So, if it’s not Aspinall, we’ll figure it out. I’m not going to make no concrete decisions right now, because I don’t know what’s going on. … It’s ain’t going to be Gane, though. That’s a no.”
Should Aspinall decide to wait for the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, which is expected to happen at some point later in 2024, Blaydes may have to reevaluate things. Luckily for him, it appears Aspinall is open to running back their first fight, which ended in 15 seconds after the now-interim champion suffered a knee injury.
“Don’t gotta ask me twice. I’m in,” Aspinall wrote on X.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.