Tom Aspinall has come off all social media while he prepares for his fight with Curtis Blaydes and says he is reaping the benefits of having less time in front of a screen. A member of his entourage is still making posts on his behalf – a smart move considering how important the tools are when it comes to building an athlete’s profile. Aspinall says that spending less time being glued to his phone has been good for his mental health and has allowed him to be more present when looking after his children:
”It sounds weird, I didn’t realize how much social media affected me mentally. I feel good [without it]. I don’t know what’s going on, I’m living in my own little world and it’s a positive place to be. It’s great, I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about it” – Aspinall told Submission Radio.
After he attended UFC Paris last September to witness Cyril Gane defeat Serghei Spivac, the Frenchman was rumored to be the next opponent for the UFC interim heavyweight champion. The fight never materialized and Aspinall now faces Curtis Blaydes in a rematch of the ill-fated night at the O2 Arena in July 2022, where Aspinall suffered a long-term knee injury just fifteen seconds into the very first round. Aspinall isn’t dismissing the threat of Curtis Blaydes and says that there were plenty of other opponents he could have faced who would have posed less danger to him.
To his credit, picking an ‘easier’ opponent would have made more sense as Aspinall must win his next fight to retain his place as the next in line for a title shot, following the conclusion of Jon Jones Vs. Stipe Miocic in Madison Square Garden later this year of course. Agreeing to fight Blaydes when so much is at stake is a credit to Aspinall. He views himself as the best heavyweight on the planet and wants to prove himself against top contenders, so the decision to take on Blaydes, the only man who has beaten him in the UFC, will earn him a lot of plaudits.
Whoever Aspinall fought out of Cyril Gane or Curtis Blaydes didn’t seem to matter to him, and he said that they both present different challenges. Gane is predominantly a southpaw who incorporates kicks into his gameplan. According to Aspinall, he’s limited with his grappling but his agility and athleticism could have caused the interim champion some problems. The experienced Blaydes will present issues for Aspinall if he is able to close the distance due to his wrestling abilities and, much like Gane, has knockout power in his hands.
A major talking point ahead of UFC 304, is of course the time of the event. Aspinall could enter the octagon anytime around 5 am which presents a conundrum when it comes to preparing for the fight. Will he adjust his body clock so that he’s training throughout the night and sleeping during the day? Unlikely, says Aspinall, as he would find it more difficult to switch his body clock. As we’re approaching summer, it would be quite difficult to do due to the sheer volume of daylight hours. Having three children to look after also makes the issue of doing a 180 on the body clock a lot easier said than done. To circumnavigate the issue, Aspinall requested that the pay-per-view time be changed, but the UFC brass were unwilling to budge, to the annoyance of the interim champ:
”I just kind of put the feelers out there a little bit. I’ve got all kinds of friends coming. I was with a friend today and he was saying that he has got childcare for the night but obviously, the show is going to finish at like 6 am. He’s essentially going to have to stay up all night and then he’s only got childcare until 9 am. He’s going to get an hour or two sleep and then has to get his kids. I was kind of putting the feelers out there [to the UFC] ”Is there any chance we could switch that?” [the event time] and they were just like ”nope, absolutely not.”
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