Tom Aspinall lighter than challenger Curtis Blaydes ahead of rematch at UFC 304

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Tom Aspinall weighed in five pounds lighter than opponent Curtis Blaydes on Friday, as the Briton prepares to defend the interim heavyweight title at UFC 304.

Wigan’s Aspinall tipped the scales at 251lb, after Blaydes weighed in at 256lb for their co-main event. Two years ago to the month, Aspinall suffered a knee injury just 15 seconds into a fight with the American in London.

It is not necessarily surprising that Aspinall will be the lighter of the pair on Saturday (27 July); the Briton, 31, is known for his unusual speed at heavyweight, and he weighed the same when he first fought 33-year-old Blaydes – who was 260lb for their first fight.

In Saturday’s main event at the Co-Op Live arena, Leon Edwards will defend the welterweight title in another rematch, against Belal Muhammad. Edwards successfully weighed in at 170lb on Friday, as the first fighter on the scales, before Muhammad came in at 169lb.

In 2021, Edwards – Jamaican-born and representing Birmingham – fought Muhammad to a No Contest, after accidentally landing an eye poke on the Palestinian-American.

Elsewhere at the UFC 304 weigh-ins, every fighter made weight except Jake Hadley. The Briton came in one pound overweight, at 137lb, for his bantamweight clash with Caolan Loughran.

Hadley, who is stepping in on short notice to face the Irishman, has been fined 20 per cent of his purse.