Aspinall answers Blaydes' call for rematch: 'I'm in'

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is down to settle the score with Curtis Blaydes.

"Don't gotta ask me twice," Aspinall tweeted Sunday morning. "I'm in."

Blaydes, the No. 5-ranked heavyweight, called for a rematch against Aspinall after knocking out Jailton Almeida on the UFC 299 preliminary card Saturday night in Miami.

Blaydes and Aspinall squared off in the UFC London main event in July 2022. The fight ended in anticlimactic fashion, however, as Blaydes won 15 seconds in after Aspinall suffered a severe knee injury.

"I believe Aspinall and I have some unfinished business," Blaydes said in the Octagon after beating Almeida. "I'd like to get that one next."

If Aspinall and Blaydes meet again, the stakes will be much higher than before. Aspinall has gone undefeated since the loss, knocking out Marcin Tybura last July and finishing Sergei Pavlovich in devastating fashion at UFC 295 last November to capture the interim heavyweight title.

Blaydes is 1-1 since the Aspinall fight, with a loss to Pavlovich and Saturday's victory over Almeida.

Aspinall initially sought an undisputed title bout against either current champ Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic following his win over Pavlovich, but the Englishman moved on after UFC CEO Dana White made it clear the promotion planned to rebook Jones-Miocic in 2024.