UFC 304: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad continues on the main card with the co-main event for the interim heavyweight championship between the current UFC Interim Champion Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes. Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champion after getting the knockout victory at UFC 295 meanwhile, Blaydes solidified his No. 1 contender status with a TKO victory of his own at UFC 295 in his last fight. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Aspinall-Blaydes prediction and pick.
Tom Aspinall (14-3) obtained the interim heavyweight championship when he brutally knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in just a little over a minute into the fight in round one. Aspinall has been gearing up to unify the heavyweight titles with Jon Jones but in the meantime, he will be looking to defend his interim title against the top contender in the division Curtis Blaydes this weekend in front of his home crowd in England at UFC 304.
Curtis Blaydes (18-4) finally gets his crack at UFC gold after working toward this moment for a long time. After a brutal TKO victory over Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 that put him on the map to become the next contender for the UFC’s interim heavyweight championship as he looks to become the next champion when he steps into the Octagon this weekend in Manchester, England.
Here are the UFC 304 Odds, courtesy of BetOnline.
UFC 304 Odds: Tom Aspinall-Curtis Blaydes Odds
Tom Aspinall: -408
Curtis Blaydes: +308
Over 1.5 rounds: +145
Under 1.5 rounds: -175
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Why Tom Aspinall Will Win
Tom Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champion after a brutal knockout of the dangerous knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich back at UFC 295. Aspinall is now 7-1 in his UFC career with his lone blemish coming against the aforementioned Curtis Blaydes after breaking his leg just 15 seconds into the fight. Now, Aspinall will be looking to get that loss back and defend his interim title for the first time when he takes on Curtis Blaydes this weekend at UFC 304.
Aspinall has been looking the part of a champion for a while now through his rise in the heavyweight rankings finishing all seven of his wins. While he has great striking and can knock out anyone in the division, he has the ability to take the fight to the mat and get himself a submission as well. He utilizes his speed and footwork on the feet to keep himself out of the powerful shots of his opponents like he did against Pavlovich and his quickness with the counters makes him deadly.
In this matchup, Aspinall is going against the best wrestler the division has ever seen and he will need to use that speed and footwork of his to not let Blaydes get a read on him. It will be up to Aspinall to let his strikes go as Blaydes looks to press forward from there he should be able to punish him as he looks to close the distance. Once Aspinall lands something flush it could be a quick night at the office as he defends his interim heavyweight title.
Why Curtis Blaydes Will Win
Curtis Blaydes is finally getting the title shot he’s been longing for during his 18-fight UFC career. He has always been one of the top contenders in the division but when he’s been on the cusp of a title shot he’s always come up short now he finally gets his chance to showcase his skills on the biggest stage to secure the coveted UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship.
Blaydes is most well known for his wrestling abilities which is hard for even someone like Jon Jones to match in the heavyweight division. He averages 5.72 takedowns landed per 15 minutes while he is successful on 53% of his takedown attempts. While Blaydes is an exceptional wrestler doesn’t make him one-dimensional as he’s shown the ability to land knockout blows on the feet as well resulting in eight of his 18 wins coming by knockout.
In this matchup, Blaydes will need to do a good job of being the aggressor, pushing the pace, and cutting off the cage to get within range to not only land his strikes but also land his takedowns. If he’s able to impose his will and get this fight to the mat while avoiding the big shots on the feet, he has a great chance of becoming the new interim heavyweight champion.
Final Tom Aspinall-Curtis Blaydes Prediction & Pick
This is going to be a great fight for the interim heavyweight championship as these two battle it out in Manchester, England. It’s hard to expect these two heavy hitters to see the judge’s scorecards in the end. This should give the edge to Aspinall who’s the quicker of the two on the feet and the one packs more of a punch. As long as Aspinall doesn’t get put through a wrestling clinic, Aspinall should land something flush on Blaydes putting him out inside two rounds and retaining his interim heavyweight championship.
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Final Tom Aspinall-Curtis Blaydes Prediction & Pick: Tom Aspinall by KO/TKO (-175), Under 1.5 (-175)
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