HOUSTON – [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] is in the best form of his UFC career, but his path to the heavyweight title looks as uncertain as ever.
His two stoppage losses to Francis Ngannou aside, Blaydes (13-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) has been dominant inside the octagon. But his most recent victory, a second-round TKO finish of former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC on ESPN+ 24, showed the world that he has fight-ending striking power to back up the dominant wrestling displayed in his previous seven UFC wins.
“I think we’re always pleased with any fight that ends with a W but, like I said on the night that it happened, to do it in the way we did it, on the feet, I know it wasn’t expected,” Blaydes told MMA Junkie on Saturday ahead of UFC 247. “A lot of people didn’t think I even had the capabilities to do what I did. I knew I could do it, but I didn’t think I would have to resort to that. It was really cool to be able to put it on display for everyone to see. Me and everyone else at the gym, we knew I had hands, but to put it out there, let the world see and to get the W, it was the perfect night.”
After seeing Blaydes have such success with his strikes against such a noted knockout artist as Dos Santos, it begged the question of why the Chicago native didn’t use that side of his skillset before. Blaydes admitted it was down to pure stubbornness on his part.
“I’ve always been resistant. I go against the grain,” Blaydes said. “I know people want me to stand and bang, and sometimes I don’t, just out of spite. There are guys like Justin Willis, I probably could have knocked him out on the feet, but out of spite, I was like, ‘No, I’m just gonna wrestle(expletive) this guy,’ and that’s what I did.
“I knew eventually I had to put it on display, and to do it against a guy like Junior, who’s a world-renowned striker, I think that was the best guy to pick to do it against.”
With such an impressive win over a former champion, Blaydes could be forgiven for thinking a title shot could be just around the corner. But the heavyweight title picture is a fuzzy one in early 2020, with talk seemingly getting louder about a trilogy fight between reigning champion Stipe Miocic and former two-division champ Daniel Cormier. Then there’s the potential X-factor of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones stepping up to join the big boys of the heavyweight division. Blaydes admits he has no idea which direction the division will take, but it seems certain to him that he’ll have to stay patient, no matter how frustrating that might be.
“I have no insight,” he said. “Actually, the more I hear, the more discouraged I get, because now I’m hearing Jon Jones, he’s been piping up about him going up to meet Stipe, so I don’t know if that’s gonna be another roadblock in my way to get my opportunity. So it’s a bit depressing when you think about it, which is why I don’t think about it as much. I know as of right now, until Jairzinho (Rozenstruik) and Ngannou have their fight, I can’t project anything.”
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Victory for Ngannou in that fight would almost certainly see the Cameroonian knockout artist leapfrog Blaydes in the pecking order, thanks to his two stoppage wins over the American. Blaydes says he would accept that if the situation panned out that way. But he’s hoping to see a different result when “The Predator” takes on “Bigi Boy” on March 28 at UFC on ESPN 8.
“It is what it is. I’m 0-2 against (Ngannou), so yeah, I’m definitely rooting against him,” Blaydes said. “Not that I don’t like him, just because I know that helps me progress in my career.”
Blaydes wouldn’t be offended if Jones jumped divisions and straight into an immediate title shot, either. Rather than be the victim of poor treatment, he says it would simply be a case of bad timing.
“No, it definitely wouldn’t offend me, because he’s a good one, a really good one,” Blaydes said of Jones. “And to make himself a true GOAT you pop up, you go after the biggest, baddest man in the whole company. So I won’t be mad at him. It’s just the timing isn’t the best for me.”
Blaydes appears to be coping with the disappointment of his seemingly inevitable wait for a title shot pretty well, and his focus has turned to how he best fills that wait time – by staying active and winning important fights.
“Really, Jairzinho, I hope he wins, because that’s what I want,” Blaydes said. “That’s what I need. But if not him, then maybe Derrick Lewis? I don’t know. But that depends on how long I have to wait. I like to stay consistent and get in three fights (in a year), but I don’t see it happening.”
Ultimately, though, Blaydes says he’s largely a passenger in the process, and he just has to roll with the punches until the path clears for him to get that title shot he craves.
“Honest to God, I’ll just wait and see,” he said. “I know it’s not a great sound bite for you guys, but that’s all I can do.”
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