Heavyweight fighter Curtis Blaydes is set to battle interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall at UFC 304. The fighter recently spoke on the dangers of fighting at heavyweight. He said the energy used in fighting in the heavyweight division is unpredictable and can cause irreparable damage to any opponent.
“I wish people would consider that when they judge or critique heavyweight,” Blaydes told MMA Fighting. “Like, ‘Oh, he got knocked out! He’s a bum!’ No, it’s heavyweight. If you watch [Sean] O’Malley against [Chito] Vera on [UFC] 299, if that was heavyweight, it wouldn’t have went five rounds. I promise you. The way O’Malley was hitting Vera, that’s not going past two rounds just because they don’t hit as hard.
“It’s not that we’re not as skilled. It’s that we have to be a little more skilled, I think, in order to strike. That’s why I like to wrestle. This is a dangerous game at heavyweight.”
The fighter has had four losses during his UFC career, all by knockout. He has faced deadly opponents like Francis Ngannou, Derrick Lewis, and Sergei Pavlovich. Although these defeats have affected him, the heavyweight fighter has seen them as inevitable.
People are like, ‘Blaydes has a glass jaw.’ I got knocked out by Derrick Lewis, Sergei caught me, but I wasn’t asleep, and [Francis] Ngannou, but again, I wasn’t asleep,” Blaydes said. “Three heavy, heavy hitters. And I ate one from Mark Hunt, a real overhand — I ate that. I don’t think I have a glass jaw. I just think it’s heavyweight, and we all hit hard.
“It’s almost a different sport when you compare it to other weight classes, the things you can get away with. You can flick out a lazy, inside-leg kick [at other weight classes], and if you get hit with a hook, it’s not the end of the world. Not at heavyweight. That’s what happened to [Alexander] Volkov. He flicked out a lazy one with Derrick [Lewis] at the end of the fight gets knocked out.”
Blaydes’ biggest knockout loss was his defeat at Derrick Lewis in 2021. He came out strong in round one, but Lewis landed a vicious uppercut that dropped him to the canvas.
People at home are like, ‘Blaydes is a bum, his hands are ass.’ I’m like, did you watch the first round?” Blaydes said. “I was piecing him up. Yeah, he caught me. He knew, ‘This guy is way too fast. I’m just going to stand here, and if I get him, I get him,’ and he got me. I hate that.
“People probably view him as a better striker than me just because he got me with an uppercut. It wasn’t the most skilful thing in the world. I almost view it as I knocked myself out because I shot into an uppercut, which only makes it worse.”
Blaydes is a good wrestler who always manages to take his opponents down. He likes to take the fight to the floor to avoid savage blows and punches.
“I wear it like a badge of honour,” Blaydes said. “A lot of people want to talk smack, ‘Oh, he wants to wrestle.’ You get in there, you stand in there with a heavy-hitting heavyweight, and you know you only get one ‘you zigged where you should have zagged’ and it’s over. Let’s see if you wrestle or not, at least for a little bit.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a smart fighter,” Blaydes said. “I know we all want to see the [Max] Holloway vs [Justin] Gaethje. Those are lightweights.
“That don’t happen at heavyweight unless you’re on the sauce, which I’m not. That’s not going to happen at heavyweight. You’re never going to get a war like that. It’s just never going to happen.”
