Curtis Blaydes

Razor

USA

Slated to welcome Kuniev to UFC
HeavyweightUFC
December 13, 2024
Blaydes will take on Rizvan Kuniev in a heavyweight bout at UFC Seattle on Feb. 22, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Blaydes will look to get back in the win column after coming up short while fighting for the UFC interim heavyweight title, losing to Tom Aspinall via TKO (punches) in the first round of a fight back in July. He'll get a chance to welcome his opponent Kuniev to the UFC, as he has yet to fight within the promotion. The experience gap makes this an interesting fight to keep an eye on come UFC Seattle.
Read More News
Fight Log
Loading Fight Log...
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Curtis Blaydes See More
UFC 310 Preview and Predictions: The MMA Mashup
10 days ago
The best MMA bets,top DFS picks across multiple sites, and predictions for this weekend's UFC 310 card are live on RotoWire before Saturday's international event.
DraftKings MMA: UFC 305 DFS Preview
124 days ago
UFC 305 takes place Saturday, and Jon Litterine is back to break down the top fights, plus offer his DFS picks and predictions for the key matchups on the card.
UFC 304 Preview and Predictions: The MMA Mashup
143 days ago
The most intriguing MMA bets, top DFS picks across multiple sites, and predictions for this weekend's UFC 304 card are live before Saturday's event, courtesy of Chris Olson.
RotoWire MMA Expert Picks: UFC 304 Main Card
143 days ago
The UFC 304 expert picks are officially in. Check out how the RotoWire team of MMA contributors envisions every fight going down on Saturday's pay-per-view card.
UFC 304 Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 DFS Preview: Drake's Takes
143 days ago
The top MMA betting and DFS plays for this weekend's UFC 304 card are up and courtesy of Drake Burden, who breaks down betting and lineup strategy, as well as offers predictions for the entire event.
More Fantasy News
Comes up short in title quest
HeavyweightUFC
July 27, 2024
Blaydes came up short in his quest for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Tom Aspinall via TKO (punches) at 1:00 of Round 1 at UFC 304 in Manchester, England.
ANALYSIS
Blaydes has been trending in the wrong direction for the last year-plus. He was knocked out by Sergei Pavlovich in just over three minutes in April 2023. He was then dominated by Jailton Almeida this past March before finding an early Round 2 knockout. The struggles continued here. Blaydes added a couple big shots early on before getting dropped with a left jab. Aspinall jumped on his back and landed unanswered follow-up blows to the head which forced referee Marc Goddard to correctly step in. Blaydes is now 33 years old. He's always been a good athlete for a heavyweight with solid grappling and cardio, but his chin is questionable, and there's a much better than even chance we've already seen the best he has to offer inside the Octagon.
Taking on Aspinall in July
HeavyweightUFC
May 16, 2024
Blaydes will face Tom Aspinall for the interim UFC Heavyweight title at UFC 304 in Manchester, England on July 27, per Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com.
ANALYSIS
Blaydes will challenge for the interim Heavyweight title coming off a second-round knockout victory over Jailton Almeida in March. Blaydes previously defeated Aspinall after the Englishman suffered a first-round knee injury in 2022. The six-foot-four American will have to overcome the challenge of fighting Aspinall in his home country of England, but Blaydes should not be overlooked.
Finds stoppage after brutal start
HeavyweightUFC
March 9, 2024
Blaydes defeated Jailton Almeida via KO (punches) at 0:36 of Round 2 at UFC 299 on Saturday in Miami.
ANALYSIS
As the old saying goes, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Well, Blaydes started terribly in this fight and looked awful essentially the entire time outside of the brilliant stoppage he earned. He allowed Almeida to connect on nine takedown attempts in the opening round alone. He was primed for similar punishment in Round 2, but managed to clip Almeida with an uppercut while the latter was attempting an early shot, and that allowed Curtis to rain down unanswered blows to the side of Jailton's head, which resulted in referee Mike Beltran stepping in. It would also go on to win Blaydes a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, which was awarded to every finisher on the evening. Blaydes remains very much in the fringes of the title conversation at heavyweight given his 4-1 mark in his past five fights.
Almeida fight re-scheduled
HeavyweightUFC
December 12, 2023
Blaydes (ankle) is scheduled to compete against Jailton Almeida in a heavyweight fight at UFC 299 on March 9, per Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com.
ANALYSIS
Blaydes and Almeida were scheduled to fight on Nov. 4 before the former withdrew, citing ankle injuries. However, both fighters will get a second chance at each other, this time about three months down the line. Blaydes will look to bounce back after a TKO loss at the hands of interim UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Sergei Pavlovich.
Suffering from ankle injuries
HeavyweightUFC
October 10, 2023
Blaydes has injuries to both of his ankles, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com.
ANALYSIS
Blaydes initially suffered an injury to only one of his ankles. He tried to push through the injury but ended up injuring his other ankle in the process. Blaydes will be unable to partake in physical activity for four-to-six weeks. Considering the heavyweight would need that time to prepare for a fight, it is safe to say he is not returning until 2024.