Dana White has been getting quite a bit of heat for the timings for UFC 304. It was recently revealed that the main card for the event would begin at three in the morning for the locals, with the title fight commencing at five. Although the excitement was palpable as UFC announced its return to Manchester, it couldn’t survive for long.
Even Tom Aspinall, the fighter who is expected to defend his interim UFC heavyweight title, wasn’t happy about the timings. The champ took to social media and revealed his displeasure with the upcoming event. But he didn’t fail to make it all a bit quirky!
Tom Aspinall is not happy about UFC 304
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Following the announcement of the venue and time for UFC 304, Aspinall shared a picture of him yawning on social media and captioned, “when you find out you have to have a scrap with someone at 5am.” Despite the laughing emojis in the caption, his discontent was crystal clear.
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‘Honey Badger’ will defend his title for the first time after his phenomenal knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. However, the excitement seems to have died down. The mixed martial arts fans were also unhappy with the announcement. Many of them claimed that the timings favored the American fans and not the fans from the UK.
Nevertheless, they are not likely to miss the event. Whatever the reason, fight fans have always turned up to support their favorite fighters, without giving much thought to the adversities. However, many others have also shown concern regarding the health of the contenders set to fight at UFC 304.
Aspinall is all systems go for the fight
Previously, the interim heavyweight champion took to TikTok to announce his return to the Octagon. In the video, he said, “All right, just back from Vegas. Was over there doing YouTube stuff means all that stuff. I don’t mean with the UFC. It has now been confirmed that I am fighting UFC Manchester, so I’m back home preparing for that now. It’s in the early stages of training camp just waiting for my opponent to accept. So stay tuned. Keep up the socials. Keep up the YouTube channel and I’ll be announcing it very soon.”
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Even though Aspinall’s title defense is confirmed, the name of the challenger is yet to be revealed. The world of mixed martial arts is seemingly split between Jon Jones and Alex Pereira, now that the latter fighter has decided to enter the realm of the heavyweights. Names like Ciryl Gane and Curtis Blaydes are also under discussion. Nevertheless, things are sure to turn spicy in Manchester.
What are your thoughts on the abnormal timings for UFC Manchester? And who do you think would get the chance to fight for the title against Aspinall? Drop down to the comments below and let us know what you think.