At UFC 304, history will be made as for the first time in over 10 years, an Interim UFC Champion will defend their belt. The last time an interim title was ever defended was at UFC 165 when the Interim Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao defended his title against Eddie Wineland.
The reason an Interim UFC title hasn’t been defended in over a decade is that interim belts are supposed to give those fighters a chance to unify their title and the world title. Most of the time, interim champions get the first shot at the champion of the division once they are cleared to compete.
However, that’s not the case for the current Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall, as it seems like the world champion Jon Jones has other plans. This has resulted in Tom having to defend his interim championship, which he will do at UFC 304 against Curtis Blaydes.
Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship Defended at UFC 304
UFC 304 will occur in Tom Aspinall’s home country at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England on July 27th, 2024. The co-main event will feature Tom Aspinall taking on Curtis Blaydes for Tom’s Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Aspinall won the Interim UFC Heavyweight title after defeating Sergei Pavlovich via first-round knockout. Pavlovich was considered one of the top heavyweight strikers coming into their fight, so seeing him get finished that early made it clear that Tom Aspinall is going to be a problem in this division.
Curtis Blaydes is coming off of a huge win over Jailton Almeida, as he defeated him via second-round TKO at UFC 299. Before that fight, Almeida was undefeated in the UFC and had made his way up the rankings, and it seemed certain that the winner of that fight would get a huge opportunity if they had won.
Aspinall and Blaydes have met before in the Octagon, however the fight was stopped early due to an injury that Tom suffered. It will be interesting to see how this fight will go with both men being fully healthy.
Why Jones Won’t Fight Aspinall
Jon Jones has made it clear in recent months that he has no interest in fighting Tom Aspinall. His claim for why he doesn’t want to fight Tom is because he believes that fighting Stipe Miocic will be better for his overall legacy.
Although Miocic is the greatest heavyweight of all time, it’s clear now that Aspinall is certainly the guy in the division and that fight would be more competitive for Jones. Fans have also made their public opinions on this topic clear, claiming that Jon is “ducking” Aspinall and knows it would be a much tougher fight.
Normally, the interim UFC champion is granted a title shot against the champion with no questions asked, but with Jon Jones having the pull he does, it seems as if he can fight whoever he wants. Jon Jones was already scheduled to defend his championship against Stipe at UFC 295, though the fight was called off due to an injury.
There is a good chance that Jon Jones will retire after his inevitable clash with Stipe Miocic, and if that’s the case, it would leave an asterisk on the later half of his career as he refused to fight the best man in his division.
Read more about why Jon Jones isn’t fighting Tom Aspinall here
Legend in The Making?
With the skillset he has on the feet and the ground, it’s likely that Tom Aspinall will end up being a name in the UFC, and will certainly make his mark on the heavyweight division.
He knocked out and finished one of the best heavyweight strikers, Sergei Pavlovich, in just the first round of their fight, becoming the new Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. He was also able to get a KO victory over another solid striker Serghei Spivac with an elbow, finishing him in the first round.
He has proven himself to be a dominant wrestling artist as well, as he has had multiple submission finishes in his UFC career. He was able to make both Andrei Arlovski and Alexander Volkov tap out, both guys who have cemented themselves as great heavyweights.
If he goes on to defeat Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, he will become the first man to defend his interim UFC title for the first time in over a decade. Tom certainly has the skill and the fanbase to become a star one day, and could even become the man to surpass Stipe Miocic’s legacy in the heavyweight division.
About The Author
Shayan Malik has always been an avid fan of sports. He is currently studying sports communication, as he is hoping to take his sports knowledge to the next level. He enjoys writing about combat sports such as MMA, wrestling, and boxing.
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