Curtis Blaydes News

Tom Taylor - September 3, 2018

On November 24, in the main event of UFC Beijing, surging UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes will attempt to avenge the only loss his career, as he battles former title challenger Francis Ngannou. Since their first fight, which went down in April of 2013, both Curtis Blaydes and Francis Ngannou have realized mountainous success in the perilous UFC heavyweight division. More recently, however, Blaydes has emerged as a bona fide title contender, while Ngannou has slipped into a bit of a rough patch.

Jason Kindschy - September 2, 2018

BJPENN.COM Radio is back, Penn Nation! We kick things off with head coach and founder of the American Kickboxing Academy, Javier Mendez. Grooming talented athletes into champions for over a decade, Javier is undoubtedly one of MMA’s most passionate coaches. We’ll talk shop with Mendez and get his take on several of his star pupils. You’ll hear an update on the future of Cain Velasquez, Luke Rockhold’s relationship with AKA, Daniel Cormier’s plans before retirement, and much more.

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2018

Curtis Blaydes wants the next crack at UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. If it weren’t for the upcoming UFC return of WWE star Brock Lesnar, he might just have gotten it. Unfortunately for Blaydes, Lesnar is returning, and when he does, he’ll jump the heavyweight contendership line and get the next shot at Cormier. In the meantime, Blaydes will rematch the only man he’s lost to, former title challenger Francis Ngannou.

Tom Taylor - August 27, 2018

The UFC’s big debut in Beijing, China will have a suitably big main event. In keeping with recent reports, the card will be headlined by heavyweight rematch between top contenders Curtis Blaydes and Francis Ngannou. The UFC made the bout official on Twitter on Sunday evening.

Tom Taylor - August 10, 2018

If all goes according to the UFC’s plan, the next crack at UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will go to former champion and WWE star Brock Lesnar. While a Cormier vs. Lesnar fight is almost certain to do big business, it’s caused a bit of a headache for the UFC’s top heavyweight contenders, such as Curtis Blaydes. Blaydes, like many members of the MMA community, feels that Lesnar doesn’t belong anywhere near a UFC heavyweight title shot. Lesnar, of course, hasn’t won a fight since 2010, when he choked out Shane Carwin. Though there was briefly a win over Mark Hunt on his record in 2016, that win was overturned when he tested positive for a banned substance.

Tom Taylor - July 20, 2018

Curtis Blaydes is arguably the top contender in the UFC heavyweight division. Unfortunately for him, it looks like the next shot at reigning heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier will go to former champion Brock Lesnar. Blaydes has previously shared his disappointment with Lesnar’s cutting the contendership line. That being said, he’s starting to get used to this sort of treatment.

Tom Taylor - July 10, 2018

News that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will get the next shot at new heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier generated backlash from a big portion of the MMA community. A giant segment of fans were immediately furious that Lesnar had been granted the opportunity, despite the fact that he hasn’t legitimately won a fight since 2010. Of all the people unhappy about Lesnar’s title shot, however, it’s arguable that none are quite as ticked as Curtis Blaydes. Blaydes, after all, could well have gotten the next heavyweight title shot had Lesnar not cut the line. Since news of Lesnar’s return was announced, Blaydes has shared his frustration on social media on several occasions. 

Drake Riggs - July 9, 2018

If there was someone that was most affected by UFC 226 without actually being involved in the event, it was probably Curtis Blaydes. After earning the biggest win of his career at UFC 225 by knocking out Alistair Overeem in devastating fashion, Blaydes had seemingly lined himself up for the possible next title shot.

Jordan Colbert - July 1, 2018

Curtis Blaydes cemented himself as one of the top contenders in the UFC heavyweight division at UFC 225 with a dominant and brutal TKO win over Alistair Overeem. Post-win, Blaydes set the record straight. It’s title shot or bust for the No. 2 ranked fighter in the division. In an exclusive interview with BJPenn.com, Blaydes dished on this and much more. Check it out below!  

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2018

Curtis Blaydes has looked unstoppable of late, but his rise through the UFC ranks has not been entirely flawless. In his first UFC bout, Blaydes experienced a tough, doctor stoppage loss to Francis Ngannou — and it’s a fight he’s wanted to get back ever since. “I’m not really a fan of short camps or late notice fights,” Blaydes explained on a recent episode of BJPENN.COM Radio. “I won’t blame my loss to Ngannou on anything besides he was a better man that day, but I do feel I would have been better prepared had I had a full six to eight week camp as opposed to the three weeks I was given.”

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2018

Currently riding high on decisive defeats of legendary heavyweights Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem, Curtis Blaydes feels he’s earned a shot at the winner of UFC 226’s Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier winner. Blaydes issued his latest call for a fight with the Miocic vs. Cormier winner — the next legend on his hit list — in Wednesday Tweet. See it below.

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2018

When UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic steps into the cage with light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 226, Curtis Blaydes will be watching closely. He is, after all, arguably the top contender in the UFC heavyweight division, and could well be the next man in line for the winner.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2018

Curtis Blaydes impressed a lot of people with his UFC 225 TKO win over former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 champion Alistair Overeem. One of the most notable people to jump on the Blaydes hype-train after UFC 225 was UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov showered Blaydes with praise in a conversation with documentary producer Will Harris of Anatomy of a Fighter.

Drake Riggs - June 12, 2018

Continuing to shine but going unnoticed has been the young dominant heavyweight wrestler, Curtis Blaydes. Blaydes just recently picked up the biggest win of his young career this past Saturday at UFC 225 when he finished perennial top contender, Alistair Overeem in devastating fashion.

Chris Taylor - June 9, 2018

A key heavyweight scrap between former title challenger Alistair Overeem and surging division contender Curtis Blaydes served as the featured bout of tonight’s UFC 225 prelims on FS1. Former Strikeforce and DREAM champion Alistair Overeem entered tonight’s contest with a 43-16 overall record while his opponent Curtis Blaydes entered the matchup 9-1.

Tom Taylor - May 20, 2018

Last night, news surfaced that the UFC had made an adjustment to the UFC 225 main card, adding a featherweight contender bout between Holly Holm and Megan Anderson to the main card, at the expense of a heavyweight contender bout between Alistair Overeem and Curtis Blaydes. This Overeem vs. Blaydes fight, which was first reported by BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor, will now occur in the final bout of the UFC 225 undercard, per Damon Martin. UFC 225 moved Holly Holm vs Megan Anderson to the main card with Alistair Overeem vs Curtis Blaydes now on the FS1 prelims pic.twitter.com/LTJEg2xVBL

Justin Golightly - March 21, 2018

Kicking off with April, the UFC has an insane line-up of fights that will eventually lead up to a huge UFC 226 card headlined by Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. Rising contender Curtis Blaydes, who is fresh off his win over Mark Hunt, trained years back with the UFC heavyweight champion. While it’s tough to choose, Blaydes believes Miocic has the edge over the Olympian light heavyweight belt-holder. “It is a tough one. This is another great match-up. Daniel Cormier, who is I think undefeated as a heavyweight, to put him against, as you said, possibly the greatest heavyweight champion we’ve had, I think it’s a great match-up. I’m going with Stipe [Miocic]. I think it’s going to be a banger. I think it’s going to be five rounds, just like Jon Jones’ last fight, not his last one against DC but their first fight against each other. I think it’s gonna go like that. They’re both gonna get rocked, they’re both gonna get taken down, they’re both gonna get cut and have bruises and what not, but I think Stipe’s length and his boxing [will be too much].“

Justin Golightly - March 15, 2018

Unless you count the overturned win over Adam Milstead due to the Devil’s tobacco, Curtis Blaydes has quietly stacked up a five-fight win streak. His latest over Mark Hunt was the biggest of his career and he’s looking to use that as a springboard right into his huge Chicago fight with Alistair Overeem. Overeem will be battling to keep his spot, while Blaydes has a chance to finally reach the top of the heavyweight division for a shot at the title. “I feel like I’m getting a bit more of a push, but this isn’t a trap fight for [Alistair Overeem] or me, this is just good matchmaking. It’s really the only fight that made sense. Cause they weren’t gonna give him [Francis] Ngannou again, they weren’t gonna give him another title shot without beating someone else, they weren’t gonna give him Mark Hunt again. It was either me or Cain [Velasquez], and I’m guessing maybe Cain’s injured still, I don’t know what’s going on with that. But he didn’t really have too many options, so it only made sense that it would be me and him.”