When Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes first clashed in July 2022, the bout ended in just 15 seconds when Aspinall suffered a knee injury.
Since then, Aspinall has produced a pair of first-round knockouts against Marcin Tybura and Sergei Pavlovich in July and November 2023, respectively, with the latter victory crowning him the interim heavyweight world champion.
On Saturday night at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, and live on pay-per-view, Aspinall will try to avenge that injury-laden loss to Blaydes as they will have the co-main event to Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad at UFC 304.
Given that it's a rematch for redemption, it's hosted by his home country and that a win can put him one step closer to clashing with Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic for the undisputed heavyweight crown, Aspinall believes this is the apt scenario for him at the moment.
"This is the perfect fight for me," Apsinall says in UFC 304 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 1 . "This is what I was looking for. This couldn't have worked out any better."
He added: "Rematch, hometown 20 minutes down the road, Manchester fans ... this is going to be incredible. It's going to be a great time."
Live on DAZN: Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov on August 3. Click here for details .