UFC Fight Night 208: Blaydes vs. Aspinall Preview, Odds, Prediction

Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall clash in the headliner of the UFC Fight Night 208. The event is set to take place at the O2 Arena in London, and we expect to see some pretty good fights. Of course, the best and the most anticipated among them is between these two heavyweights trying to break into the division’s elite. Blaydes is the No.4 in the rankings, while Aspinall sits two places lower. The thing is here, whoever wins this battle could end up in a title eliminator, or even become the next challenger.

Preview

Curtis Blaydes (+115) comes in as an undergod in this bout. The reason for that, apart from Aspinall’s excellent for, is the venue, as Razor fought in Europe only once, while on the other side, this is a home court for Aspinall, who will have the support of the entire crowd.

Blaydes won the previous two events, defeating Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision, and Chris Daukas, whom he KOd in the second round in March this year. That earned him the Performance of the Night bonus and another big win. Apart from these two, Razor bear Alexander Volkov, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt, etc.

He is a fantastic wrestler, and that is his biggest weapon. The American is often using it to reach the position from which he can inflict some serious ground-and-pound hits, which usually end the fights. Eleven of his 16 victories have come following a KO, and five via decision. On the other side, three defeats he endured were all by a knockout, twice against Ngannou and once against Derrick Lewis.

Tom Aspinall (-145) is in perfect shape, having five wins in a row in the UFC, and posting finish victories ever since joining the organization. Only Andrei Arlovski managed to survive the opening round, but he too was submitted.

The most recent two victories Aspinall had were quite convincing, against Sergey Spivak, a first-round TKO, and against Alexander Volkov, whom Aspinall submitted after 3:45 of the opening round. It was one pretty routine win for the English fella, and to be honest, we didn’t see it coming this way.

Aspinall is an energetic and explosive heavyweight who knows how to punch and wrestle as well. His score is 12 wins and two defeats, both of them coming in the early stages of his career. Nine of those triumphs were via KO, and three after a submission. That aspect of the fight became his virtue, even though, he wasn’t specialized in it a few years ago.

Prediction

We are all in on Blaydes, and let us tell you why. First of all, the Razor had a bunch of matches like this one, and his experience is much bigger than Aspinall’s. There is one even more important reason, and that is his gas tank. Blaydes is known for his excellent stamina and the fact that he lures his rivals into clinch and wrestling before increasing the tempo and breaking down their power. On the other side, Aspinall never reached the third round, which will be a big handicap for him.

Pick: Blaydes wins