Athletes
Curtis Blaydes: Eyes On The Prize
Heavyweight Veteran Curtis Blaydes Hopes To Show The Different Level He Is On At UFC 299: O'Malley vs Vera 2
In a division that has seen plenty of changes over recent years, two things have been constant – Curtis Blaydes’ status as a highly-ranked contender, and his burning desire to capture the UFC heavyweight title.
Blaydes will make the walk to the Octagon for the 18th time when he faces Brazilian contender Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 this weekend, and he does so with his sights firmly set on a shot at gold later this year.
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His meeting with Almeida was originally due to take place in the main event in Sao Paulo last November, but an ankle injury forced him out of the event.
"I think my body was just starting to break down,” Blaydes told UFC.com during fight week in Miami.
“It was a very long camp. They told us about the Almeida fight back in June (and) the injury happened in June. And I was thinking, ‘I’ll be ready by November.’ I just kept working out on it and never gave it time to heal.”
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With the injury still niggling in October, Blaydes and his team decided to withdraw from the bout and give his body time to fully rest and recover.
It was the sort of decision that Blaydes might not have made earlier in his career. But now, as a seasoned veteran and established contender, he made the call to get himself back to 100 percent, rather than run the risk of competing in a pivotal bout carrying the handicap of an injury.
Every UFC Takedown By Curtis Blaydes
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Every UFC Takedown By Curtis Blaydes
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“No, I would have felt the outside pressure and just take the fight, which is what a lot of guys do. And they regret it,” he admitted.
“Because I'm older, I don't feel like I have to prove myself. I feel like I already have. So the UFC gave me the benefit of the doubt, gave me the grace to rebook the matchup – that's what I wanted. So I think I made the right decision.”
The rebooked bout offers Blaydes the opportunity to bounce back from his first-round TKO at the heavy hands of Sergei Pavlovich in a bout that saw him look competitive early before being clipped and finished by the Russian contender.
For Blaydes, it was a clear illustration of the risks heavyweight fighters face every time they step into the Octagon, where minding your defensive Ps and Qs isn’t just good advice, it’s essential.
“I know it’s going to sound cliche, but it's heavyweight. Our margin of error is super thin,” he explained.
“We don't get to make the mistakes that bantamweights and featherweights (can) where they can have an exchange, put their hands down, get rocked, but be like ‘Oh, I messed up,’ then re-enter and adjust.
“At heavyweight, we saw what happens. That’s the biggest thing. You’ve gotta be technically on point. That’s what it was. I entered a little lackadaisical. You got to be on it as soon as you touch in, and that’s the biggest thing I've learned.”
UFC 299 COUNTDOWN: Full Episode | O'Malley vs Vera | Poirier vs Saint Denis | Holland vs Page
From a stylistic standpoint, Blaydes is facing a significantly different opponent to the one he battled last April. Almeida’s skillset is heavily slanted towards grappling. “Malhadinho” boasts a 20-2 record, with 12 of those wins coming via submission. Of his seven KO finishes, many were achieved on the mat.
Curtis Blaydes Fight Week Interview | UFC 299
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Curtis Blaydes Fight Week Interview | UFC 299
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“I know he likes to take people down – that's my thing. But we'll see. I'm excited,” said Blaydes.
“This is my first young guy who can grapple. I've gone against older grapplers, but they were older. So I think this’ll be the fight that I show everybody that I’m the best at grappling in this division.”
Almeida burst onto the UFC heavyweight scene with four finishes, including three first-round submissions, but his run of stoppage victories came to an end against Derrick Lewis. Almeida won the fight, but his performance in victory left Blaydes less than impressed.
“We know the strategy. He’s the guy who gives grapplers a bad name. Lay and pray. And he’s the reason everyone hates grappling,” he offered.
“Guys like him will do that, and that’s his gameplan. He wants to take you down, and he's not gonna hunt for the submission. If you allow him just to hang, he’ll just hang on you. So that was exposed, and the lack of… I thought he'd have a bigger jiu-jitsu bag. I thought he’d have some crazy high-level black belt stuff, but it didn’t look like he did, so that was also exposed, I guess.”
The bout also offers Blaydes the opportunity to move one step closer to his goal of a UFC championship. He’s been there or thereabouts for the last few years, but is still awaiting his first shot at championship gold.
To press his case for a title shot, Blaydes knows he needs to make a statement against Almeida, and he plans on doing exactly that.
“I’m gonna hit him on the feet,” he stated.
“His path to victory, he has to take me down and hold me down. I'm gonna use my defensive wrestling, get him off me and hit him.
“He doesn't have any hands. He doesn't have any footwork. He hasn't had to develop hands and footwork, because he always gets the takedown, and they allow him to just hang on them. I’m not going to do that.
“I’m going to make him be uncomfortable. I know he’s going to be uncomfortable on his feet, he’s going to make mistakes, he’s going to get frustrated, and he’s going to walk into something easy.
“It’s almost like what happened in Ohio with (Chris) Daukaus. He walked into that one. I didn’t set it up. And that’s what I’m envisioning, him just walking into something.”
With interim champion Tom Aspinall looking to either face undisputed champ Jon Jones, or defend his interim belt, Blaydes sees victory on Saturday as an opportunity to set up a rematch with the Englishman, who suffered a serious knee in their main event matchup in London in 2022 before coming back to knock out Pavlovich for the interim title last year.
“First of all, I’m happy to see him bounce back,” said Blaydes.
“You never want to see top athletes get taken out of the game because of an injury. You want to beat those guys. You don’t want them to be on the sidelines.
“Watching him beat Sergei, obviously, it lights a fire underneath me because he beat the guy that beat me, and I beat him. So there’s that, and just to know that I’ve been on the edge, on the cusp, for two years now, it just keeps me driving. It’s like you’re holding a reward right here and it makes you want to sprint to go and get it. That’s where I am right now. I can see it, it’s right there, and I’m sprinting to get it.”
For Blaydes, that means delivering a big performance against Almeida on Saturday, then using his microphone time to call his shot.
“I'm gonna ask for Aspinall,” he confirmed.
“Yeah, I'm gonna ask. You can only ask, so I definitely plan on doing that.”
If his performance is as decisive as he’s planning, he might just get the answer he’s looking for.
UFC 299: O'Malley vs Vera 2 took place live from Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on March 9, 2024. See the final Prelims & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
