Curtis Blaydes is very realistic when it comes to his spot in the heavyweight rankings and what it will take to eventually earn a shot at UFC gold.
Despite consistently competing against top-10 ranked competition, the 31-year-old contender is rarely mentioned in the title conversation, even with a 6-1 record in his past seven fights including three knockouts along the way. While he does have a pair of losses to current UFC champ Francis Ngannou in previous fights, Blaydes still didn’t receive much consideration after the promotion started hinting an interim title fight taking place in 2022.
This might be irritating for a lot fighters but you shouldn’t include Blaydes.
“Maybe because I’m pessimist but it doesn’t mean it will be easy,” Blaydes stated on The Fighter. The Writer. “I expect it to be hard. It is hard to have anything worth living for. Getting a title shot is worth having, so I expect it to be a long, hard road, and this is part of that road.”
There’s a long list of names from the past who have gotten so wrapped up in becoming champion that it became a distraction to the task directly in front of them.
With a showdown scheduled against Tom Aspinall in the UFC London main event on Saturday, Blaydes refuses to walk down that same road, which is why he’s just worried about getting a win with the knowledge that a title fight is almost certainly not next for him.
“Maybe because of my wrestling roots,” Blaydes stated. “I’m used to going to a tournament at 8 a.m. and you don’t know what your seed is going to be. It’s possible that you are the No. 1 seed, the No. 5 seed, the No. 16 seed. You hope eventually to reach the finals. If it takes four rounds you will eventually have to face a great guy. This is how I see it. It’s just one extra long tournament. You’ll eventually have to face good men along the way.
” I have never understood why, particularly in boxing. People avoid difficult fights. Because eventually if you want to be the best, all your opponents are going to be tough. As I am in the top 5, I have been there since 2018.. There are no easy fights. This is what I expected. Aspinall is my expectation, followed by [Ciryl] Gane and [Tai] Tuivasa. After that, I expect most likely the interim title against either the winner of Stipe [Miocic] vs. Jon Jones.”
That perspective has helped Blaydes stay realistic with his expectations while quietly currying favor with the UFC, because the promotion has learned he’s a guy who will always step up when needed.
The latest example comes in his next fight as Blaydes travels to London to face Aspinall in his home country with a raucous crowd that will definitely give the former college wrestler a rude welcome.
” I don’t believe that I have ever turned down any fights,” Blaydes stated. “I get an opponent, I’m like OK. With the UFC, turning down fights isn’t a good idea. That starts to put you in a bad light. I didn’t even think about it. I don’t care. I just wanted a top-five guy. It had to be Aspinall or Gane — but I’d have been fine with either one. To fight Tuivasa, I would return to Australia. I would have gone to France to fight Gane. It doesn’t matter.
“People who think the venue actually has a factor on the outcome of the fight, I don’t know what to tell you besides I think you’re wrong. It doesn’t matter to me at all. It is who can implement their game plan the fastest and most efficiently, and it doesn’t matter .”
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Blaydes stated that he respects Aspinall’s decision to fight him. There’s an obvious reward for Aspinall winning, but also a risk in facing the top-tier heavyweight. He arguably has some of the most skilled wrestling in the division.
The result might be Aspinall lying on his stomach, taking punches from Blaydes the ground-and-pound expert, who is a vicious opponent. There’s no way to cheer him up.
” This will be a challenge,” Blaydes stated. “I look forward to that. “I look forward to showing the world that I am not only taking down bums. While I’m capable of taking down skilled men, I also believe that he is skilled. However, I think I will be able to bring him down when I need to .
Blaydes enjoys being a spoiler in Aspinall’s country. It’s an experience that is unique and can’t replicated elsewhere.
Rather than avoid an unenviable situation, Blaydes plans to make the most out of the opportunity and send the London crowd home disappointed.
“That’s the pettiness in me,” Blaydes said. I like to travel and defeat the people everyone is trying to beat. I get a rush out of that.”
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