Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes reportedly set to headline UFC London on July 23

UK heavyweight star Tom Aspinall and American heavyweight mainstay Curtis Blaydes have lately been surging towards the top of the heavyweight division with one impressive performance after another. Aspinall and Blaydes are reportedly scheduled to clash in a five-round matchup that’ll headline the upcoming UFC Fight Night card at the O2 Arena in London, England, on July 23.

Veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani was the first to report that the UFC was planning a fight between Aspinall and Blaydes. Following Helwani’s recent assertion, MMA Junkie has now reported that both fighters have verbally agreed to a five-round bout, although the UFC have yet to make an official announcement.

Fans can expect the UFC to officially confirm the matchup in the days to come.

Aspinall boasts a professional MMA record of 12 wins and two losses. He’s unbeaten in the UFC. The UK MMA stalwart’s most recent fight was a first-round submission victory over Alexander Volkov at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall in March.

Blaydes holds a professional MMA record of 16 wins, three losses, and one no contest. ‘Razor’ is on a two-fight win streak, and last competed against Chris Daukaus and impressively beat him via second-round technical knockout at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus in March.

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Michael Bisping foresees Tom Aspinall as a threat to Francis Ngannou’s UFC heavyweight title

Following Tom Aspinall’s one-sided victory over veteran heavyweight Alexander Volkov, MMA legend Michael Bisping was all praise for his fellow UK MMA star. In an edition of his Believe You Me podcast, Bisping asserted that Aspinall had a good chance of dethroning reigning UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou:

"I'm not saying right here, right now, that [Tom Aspinall] beats Francis Ngannou. I'm saying there's a really good f***ing chance he beats Francis Ngannou. I mean, if it stays on the feet and Ngannou, we know. I don't need to finish the sentence. I don't even need to finish that he is extremely dangerous. But the well-roundedness of him I think just sets him apart from everyone else."

Watch the podcast below:

Furthermore, Bisping alluded to the fact that Aspinall has also trained with WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. The former UFC middleweight champion suggested that Aspinall was incredibly talented and could dominate in professional boxing too.