Tom Aspinall came into UFC 304 this past weekend already holding the UFC record for the fastest average fight time for an athlete that has stepped foot in the Octagon several times.
This streak doesn’t appear to be going anywhere despite his want and expectation for the rematch with Curtis Blaydes to go past the opening rounds.
All it took was one clean shot from the interim heavyweight champion to send Blaydes off balance, where a barrage of follow-up strikes closed the show in just one minute.
In nine total appearances since signing with the UFC, Aspinall is still yet to clock in a full 15-minute bout duration – even with all of his fights combined.
He got this one done even quicker than his average fight time of less than two minutes but a former champion questioned whether this will come back to bite him at a later stage.
Henry Cejudo Says Tom Aspinall’s Lack Of Cage Time Could Hurt Him Against Jon Jones
Even before this fight, despite Blaydes being a very tough opponent for Aspinall, the fight that many want to see the Brit in is the title unification clash with Jon Jones.
This is even more so the case after he avenged his one defeat in the UFC, which was caused by an injury, and made it look relatively simple.
During the UFC 304 recap episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Henry Cejudo made the case for why this incredibly small amount of fight time could be a disadvantage for Aspinall if he were to fight Jones.
We’re still yet to see so many elements of his game which an experienced foe like Jones is surely going to want to try and test, if they do ever meet.
“Last four fights bro! 3 minutes and 37 seconds, Jesus Christ. But, that can also be his worst enemy too because you know a guy like Jones, a guy like Jones is smart bro. A guy like Jones, we cannot doubt the dude. The dude could wrestle and the dude will probably make this dude fight that beast side. But I will say this man, Tom Aspinall’s agility and the fact he’s a counter puncher, like he really did counter that jab very well with that overhand bro. like his IQ on his feet is good but we also have to see him in those other areas.”
