Tom Aspinall was always going to fight in UFC’s return to Manchester. It doesn’t matter that doing so meant putting his interim heavyweight belt on the line while the division waits for Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic to fight, thus risking a fight with either legend. Or the fact that it comes against Curtis Blaydes, whom Aspinall routinely describes as his “worst matchup.” All that matters is the Octagon is landing more than 200 miles north of London and about a 20-minute drive from Aspinall’s front door.
“Anybody who thinks that I'm going to go to a UFC event in Manchester and just watch is absolutely insane,” Aspinall said during his interview with UFC.