For the second time in four months, Tom Aspinall will step out as a headliner in front of 17,000 fans at the O2 Arena on Saturday, taking on Curtis Blaydes in the main event of UFC London.
Aspinall’s run through the heavyweight division has been searing, the Wigan heavyweight going 5-0 in the UFC with stoppage wins in the first or second round each time out. Most recently, the 29-year-old (12-2) submitted Alexander Volkov in Round 1 at the March edition of UFC London, making light work of the veteran in what was Aspinall’s first UFC main event.
As the Briton prepares for his toughest test yet, a clash with Curtis Blaydes (16-3, 1 No Contest) this weekend, The Independent speaks to Aspinall’s coach Colin Heron about how Saturday’s main event will be decided.
Heron, 51, is the founder and head coach of Team Kaobon, and has worked with numerous UFC fighters including fellow Liverpudlian Darren Till – a fan favourite and former welterweight title challenger who had to withdraw from UFC London due to injury. Heron, the first Muay Thai coach to produce champions in every weight class of that sport, has known Aspinall since the title hopeful was 12. With Aspinall’s father having long coached jiu-jitsu at Kaobon, Heron has worked with the fourth-ranked UFC heavyweight for the best part of two decades.
“Long before this was announced, Tom agreed that the toughest fight in the top 10 – stylistically – was probably against Blaydes,” Heron says. “You never come across someone who wrestles that way. His wrestling credentials are pretty amazing. How he was able never to be scored upon, and to do it at his size... it’s hard to get a sparring partner to replicate that. With Volkov, we were able to bring some 6ft 9in, 7ft kickboxers over. There’s not many giant wrestlers to get your hands on in Europe. Tom’s never ever faced a Division I wrestler, so that’s the first concern.”
For all of Blaydes’ wrestling prowess, the 31-year-old is also a threat in striking exchanges, with 11 of his 16 professional MMA wins having come via knockout/TKO. Some of those finishes have of course come on the mat, after Blaydes has implemented his grappling game, but others have come with the American and his opponent standing – including his most recent win, against Chris Daukaus in March.
“He’s got a hell of a lot of power in his hands,” Heron says. “He’s knocking people clean out with that right hand. If you go in only thinking about takedown defence, that’s when you get caught by these dangerous punchers, but if you disregard the takedown, that’s when you get taken down. Obviously if he does get you down, he’s always in a finishing position from on top. As soon as he starts throwing those elbows, there’s a lot of bad intentions in every one of them, and there’s a lot of weight going through them. If Curtis can’t take you down, he’ll hold you against the fence and run you across it, try to make you expose your back [for a choke]. He knows how to use his weight.”
Heron highlights another element of Blaydes’ offence that he believes is often overlooked: “He’s also got a really, really strong leg kick, which no one seems to mention.”
Despite Blaydes’ considerable experience, variety of weapons, and impressive record (his only losses have been knockouts by reigning champion Francis Ngannou, twice, and powerhouse Derrick Lewis), he is the betting underdog this weekend. Aspinall was admittedly somewhat surprised by that revelation this week, while Blaydes seemed indifferent.
Heron’s analysis of Aspinall’s skillset suggests that the Liverpudlian understands why his fighter is the favourite.
“We know Tom’s very fast. He’s faster than Blaydes, he moves better than him,” Heron says. “Blaydes tends to just go forwards and backwards. We also know Blaydes is a different fighter if it gets past the third round. He tires, he goes flat-footed, he was even taken down by Volkov [in the fourth round of their fight]. He had a refusal to even try to get up at that stage, you could see he was spent. He was just lying on his back, he knew he was ahead on points, he was just trying to avoid damage.
“Tom’s fit, young, fast. A lot of people think the longer it goes, it will suit Curtis because of his experience over five rounds. But he does tire, and I know Tom’s conditioning is on point and he could do six, seven rounds if he really had to. Tom won’t plant his feet and swing crazy; he’ll pepper away with shots, he’ll cause Blaydes to overreact. If that happens, Tom’s got him – Tom’s definitely got him.
“Now, it could be the opposite; it could be a long night where Tom spends three rounds trying to get up off his back. I know he can do that in the gym, but to do that in front of 20,000 people and so many more watching on TV... we haven’t seen that yet. I’m confident he can, but he’s got no choice; he can’t just lie there. But Tom’s got a hell of a scramble game on him; he doesn’t scramble like a heavyweight, he moves like he’s about 155lbs on the mat. He’s like a spider.
“So, we’ve done a lot of wrestling. The British wrestling squad normally comes to my gym every Friday, and they’ve got the Commonwealth Games coming up. So, we had four or five of them in, and let me just say this: Not one of them out-wrestled Tom, he won the wrestling with all of them. He would take them down, but if they put him in a bad position, he’d out-scramble them. They’d be exhausted by the time he got to his feet, and he’d be back to his feet in seconds.”
Aspinall vs Blaydes is perhaps the most intriguing fight on Saturday’s card, and that is not just from the perspective of fans, writers and pundits; Heron is also eager to watch it play out.
“It’s a great fight for me as a coach to see where Tom’s at. He’s smart, he’s capable, I’m very confident he can win it, but there’s a lot of pressure that we can’t replicate in the gym. We’re gonna get questions answered ourselves on fight night.”
