Tag: Curtis Blaydes

Curtis Blaydes explains why UFC 299 opponent Jailton Almeida is ‘like a heavyweight version of Demian Maia’

Although the grappling has been dominant, it’s what Jailton Almeida hasn’t shown that sticks out to Curtis Blaydes.

MIAMI – [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] understands the comparisons between him and UFC 299 opponent Jailton Almeida, but he thinks the similarities end outside of the grappling department.

“That’s the beauty of being multifaceted,” Blaydes told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I don’t have one path to victory. I can win on the feet. I can grapple. I’ve always shown I have the power to knock guys out. I’m very confident I will be able to out-show him on the feet.”

Blaydes (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) and Almeida (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) were supposed to compete in November in Brazil. However, Blaydes withdrew due to two ankle injuries. He watched closely on fight night as Almeida dragged replacement Derrick Lewis all over the canvas.

Despite the dominant performance, Blaydes recognizes the things that were not on display. Blaydes said Almeida’s strict focus on grappling reminds him of a former UFC welterweight title challenger.

“He did what I thought he was going to do, take him down,” Blaydes said. “I didn’t think he’d want to hang out on the feet at all. He hasn’t really shown anything with footwork and hands. He’s a traditional jiu-jitsu guy. He’s like a heavyweight version of Demian Maia.”

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The perceived flaw in Almeida is not unique to just him, according to Blaydes, who sees the heavyweight division as a whole struggling handily with takedowns.

“It’s a lot of guys,” Blaydes said. “A lot of guys at heavyweight find one skill and they’re like, ‘Oh, that works.’ They don’t grow. They don’t expand on it. Why would they? He had so much success. I don’t think he’s going to come out and, oh, he’s going to want to strike now. Just like you said, the teep into the blast double leg, it works because these other heavyweights have never sprawled in their life. I sprawl all the time. I guess we’ll see.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.

UFC 299 pre-event facts: Inside the numbers of stacked Miami lineup

The best facts and figures about UFC 299, which features an absolutely stacked lineup with history on the line for multiple fighters.

The final event in the 200s-era of numbered UFC cards goes down Saturday at UFC 299, and the event from Kaseya Center (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) is one of the most stacked in recent memory.

A lineup filled with a plethora of former title challengers, top-ranked contenders and more, is headline by a bantamweight title rematch. Reigning champ [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) will attempt to make his first defense while simultaneously trying to avenge his only career loss against [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] (21-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC), who won the first matchup by first-round TKO at UFC 252 in August 2020.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC 299.

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Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera

Tom Aspinall down to defend interim UFC title against Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida winner

Tom Aspinall is warm the idea of defending his interim UFC heavyweight title in 2024, and he has a potential opponent in mind.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] is warm the idea of defending his interim UFC heavyweight title in 2024, and he has a potential opponent in mind.

Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is less than two months removed from winning interim gold with a 69-second knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in New York. Despite the achievement, though, Aspinall won’t be next to fight for the undisputed belt.

That distinction will go to Stipe Miocic, who is expected to challenge current titleholder Jon Jones once “Bones” returns from injury. Moreover, it’s unknown if one or both of Jones and Miocic will retire after the fight, leaving some uncertainty around Aspinall’s next move.

Aspinall has expressed frustration as he sits on the sidelines waiting for the situation to play out, but he’s made it clear a long break from competition is not of interest. He wants to fight sooner than later, and he sees the winner of the matchup between [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) and [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami as a fitting foe (via X):

Aspinall, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie heavyweight rankings, has a history with No. 7-ranked Blaydes. The pair fought at UFC Fight Night 208 in July 2022, with the main event bout ending in just 15 seconds after Aspinall went down with a knee injury that ultimately required surgery and forced him out of competition for a year.

A rematch would certainly be logical if Blaydes wins, but he’ll have to first get past No. 12-ranked Almeida, who was MMA Junkie’s 2023 Breakout Fighter of the Year after picking up victories over Derrick Lewis, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Shamil Abdurakhimov.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Dec. 11-17)

All the UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Dec. 11-17.

Jailton Almeida vs. Curtis Blaydes rebooked for UFC 299

UFC is revisiting a previosuly-booked matchup that fell through between heavyweight contenders Jailton Almeida and Curtis Blaydes.

The UFC has rebooked a previously scheduled heavyweight main event that fell through.

At UFC Fight Night 231 in November, [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] was set to face [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] in a five-round headliner. Blaydes withdrew due to injury, and Alemida ended up fighting and defeating Derrick Lewis.

The promotion has decided to revisit the matchup, booking Almeida (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) against Blaydes (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) in a three-round bout March 9 at UFC 299. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA Fighting on Tuesday.

The event is expected to take place in Miami, but the promotion has yet to officially confirm the location and venue.

Almeida’s unanimous decision win over Lewis was a dominant outing, but also the first time the undefeated Brazilian heavyweight went the distance in his UFC career. “Malhadinho” entered that contest on the heels of a first-round submission win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Blaydes will be looking to rebound from a first-round TKO loss to Sergei Pavlovich in April. The setback halted a three fight winning streak.

With the addition the UFC 299 lineup includes:

  • Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera – for bantamweight title
  • Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
  • Maycee Barber vs. Katlyn Chookagian
  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Phillips
  • Asu Almabaev vs. CJ Vergara

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.

Curtis Blaydes expected Tom Aspinall to beat Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 – but not like that

Curtis Blaydes thinks Sergei Pavlovich gave Tom Aspinall too much space to work at UFC 295.

[autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] gave [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] too much space to work.

Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) knocked out Pavlovich (18-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in 69 seconds to claim the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295.

Aspinall’s lone octagon loss came to Blaydes by TKO in July 2022, when his knee blew out just 15 seconds into the fight. Having fought both Aspinall and Pavlovich before, Blaydes (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) picked Aspinall to win, but was surprised at the quick blitz through knockout artist Pavlovich.

“Going in, I did have Aspinall winning, but I didn’t think it would happen in the fashion that it did happen,” Blaydes told Middle Easy. “I thought he would out-technique him and just be a smarter fighter. I expected Sergei to be a lot more aggressive. That was one of the biggest things. He allowed Aspinall to get bouncing, get moving, and gave him space.

“That’s one of the differences between fighting at the Apex and using a standard octagon – a lot more space, a lot harder to be aggressive when there are angles you can take. I think that was the beginning of the end when he allowed Aspinall the freedom of movement.”

Many are touting Aspinall to potentially be the one to beat UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and Blaydes doesn’t rule out that possibility. He thinks anyone can win a fight at heavyweight.

“It’s heavyweight,” Blaydes said. “Anybody can beat anybody. Sergei can beat Jon. I can beat Jon. It’s whoever gets hit in the face first. That’s really all it is. Regardless of the skill, and technique, and experience, and all that, heavyweight there is one equalizer; power. Power beats skill. Power beats speed. Power at heavyweight is everything and every heavyweight has power. It’s a prerequisite.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 9-15)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Oct. 9-15.

Curtis Blaydes opens up on UFC Sao Paulo withdrawal: ‘I promise this decision wasn’t made in haste’

Curtis Blaydes says he tried to battle through some injuries to make UFC Fight Night 231, but ultimately he decided to withdraw.

[autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] tried to battle through some injuries to make UFC Fight Night 231, but ultimately he decided to withdraw.

Blaydes (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) was forced out of his Nov. 4 headliner vs. Jailton Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo. Former title challenger Derrick Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) will step in as a replacement.

Blaydes released a statement on his Facebook page to explain that he couldn’t overcome the injuries he was dealing with during camp.

“Injuries from camp weren’t healing at a fast enough pace for me to compete at the level required to be the best version of myself November 4th. There’s a difference between being hurt and injured took me almost 3 months to see the difference. I’m gonna take some time off from training and focus on rehabbing so i can come back fully confident in my athletic abilities. Apologies to everyone who was hyped up for this fight. I promise this decision wasn’t made in haste.”

https://www.facebook.com/curtis.blaydes.90/posts/pfbid02kh44E4Anf6NKw2DXfsmHbDFffvDsYnDdcLrxtEj42RwP3Gkr7gTPKt2bKek96Tql

Blaydes was looking to rebound from a first-round TKO loss to Sergei Pavlovich in April. Prior to that, he scored three straight wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Chris Daukaus, and Tom Aspinall.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

Derrick Lewis replaces Curtis Blaydes, headlines UFC Sao Paulo vs. Jailton Almeida

UFC Fight Night 221 has a new main event.

“The Black Beast” is headed to Brazil.

With [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] out, [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] has stepped in against [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]. The bout will headline UFC Fight Night 221 on Nov. 4 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo.

Two people with knowledge of the change recently informed MMA Junkie of it but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Ag.Fight first reported the news Monday.

Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) looks to build on the momentum he gained at UFC 291 in July when he made quick work of Marcos Rogerio de Lima and went viral with a pantless celebration. The victory snapped a three-fight losing skid and earned Lewis a new UFC contract.

Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) rides a 14-fight winning streak into the matchup including five straight finishes in the UFC. He most recently competed in May during his first promotional headliner, when he defeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik by first-round submission at UFC on ABC 4.

With the addition, UFC Fight Night 221 fight card includes:

  • Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby
  • Don’Tale Mayes vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
  • Armen Petrosyan vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel
  • Caio Borralho vs. Abus Magomedov
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Vitor Petrino
  • Elves Brenner vs. Esteban Ribovics
  • Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski
  • Denise Gomes vs. Angela Hill
  • Eduarda Moura vs. Montserrat Ruiz
  • Lucas Alexander vs. David Onama
  • Marc Diakiese vs. Kaue Fernandes

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

UFC’s Curtis Blaydes on Jailton Almeida: ‘I’m always going to be the better grappler’

Curtis Blaydes thinks he has the grappling advantage over Jailton Almeida.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] thinks he has the grappling advantage over [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag].

Blaydes (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) meets Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in a UFC Fight Night main event Nov. 4 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In a battle of two of the strongest grapplers in the division, Blaydes sees himself prevailing in that department.

“I like the matchup, though,” Blaydes told MMA Junkie at UFC X during International Fight Week. “I do like Almeida. I think he’s going to come in and look to grapple with me, and I feel like I’m always going to be the better grappler.”

Blaydes doesn’t remember the last time someone tried to shoot on him but welcomes the challenge of Almeida’s grappling.

“It’s been a minute, and I think he’s probably going to think, ‘Oh, he hasn’t had to defend a takedown in a while so he’s going to be a little rusty.’ I’ve been wrestling since 2004. I’m not going to be rusty. My sprawls are always going to be 100 percent, and I look forward to the challenge of him trying to take me down and me being the striker in this matchup.”

Blaydes doesn’t see himself getting stopped in any grappling exchanges. All four of Blaydes’ losses have come by knockout, so he says Almeida will have to put his lights out if he wants to get his hands raised.

“If he wants to play jiu-jitsu on the bottom, that’s fine with me,” Blaydes said. “He’ll lose the rounds and I don’t believe I’m going to get caught in any slick submissions. You’re going to have to knock me out. That’s the only way you’re going to be able to beat me.”

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