Tom Aspinall is still trying to figure out how he’ll fight overnight at UFC 304.
Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) defends his interim title in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the July 27 co-headliner (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
Aspinall has expressed his concern about fighting in the middle of the night on numerous occasions, but plans on mimicking the methods of welterweight champion Leon Edwards, who runs things back with Belal Muhammad in the night’s headliner.
“Leon has employed a sleep specialist,” Aspinall told Title Sports Network. “I knew about this before because I know Leon’s manager, so I was kind of like, I’m not going to set anything in stone in my mind until I spoke to Leon on what he’s doing.
“Leon basically gave me a full breakdown of his sleep pattern. So I’m essentially going to copy Leon without paying a sleep specialist. That’s the plan. I don’t want to pay anybody, so I’m just getting the advice off Leon and I’m just following what Leon’s doing.”
Aspinall recalls attending the UFC 204 in 2016, and how he struggled with the overnight timings as a spectator.
“I actually think that it’s a lot harder for the fans than it is for the fighters,” Aspinall said. “(I went to) Bisping’s fight years ago when he fought Dan Henderson in Manchester. It’s much tougher for fans.
“Once our adrenaline is going, and we’ve got weeks to prepare for it – I’m going to adjust my body clock bit by bit. Big shout out Leon Edwards’ sleep coach. I’m going to do that so I’m going to be all right, but fans aren’t going to start preparing their body to stay up late. They just have to wing it, so it’s a lot worse.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.
