Curtis Blaydes’s eyes are still directed towards gold heading into his main event slot against Junior dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 167, and he has his expectations on who will be champion when he earns his title shot.
Reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic recaptured the world title in August at UFC 241 when he knocked out Daniel Cormier in their heavyweight championship rematch. Daniel Cormier has been requesting a trilogy fight against Miocic, but the new champion has his sights set on a superfight against Tyson Fury, who has been teasing jumping into the MMA pool. Miocic’s career management’s impact is not restricted to himself, however, it also affects the career plans of others, including Curtis Blaydes (Via MMA Fighting):
“I respect him and I get why he wants the money but at the same time it does affect my timeline of what I want to get done. I do feel some type of way about it but I’m not going to bash Stipe. I get it,” Blaydes told MMA Fighting. “I get that but then again I’m in the midst of my career and how long do I have to wait for a title shot? How many more money grab fights do I have to wait through before I get a shot?”
Curtis Blaydes is currently ranked #3 in the heavyweight division and has now won two consecutive fights. Win a win over dos Santos next month, he will continue to stride closer to title shot territory. If/when Blaydes does receive his title shot, he expects to meet the current title holder in the Octagon, even if Miocic faces Daniel Cormier again.
“I’ll go with Stipe [to win] again,” Blaydes predicted when asked about a potential trilogy bout between Miocic and Cormier. “Especially after both got a win under their belts, if they do fight again, the rounds are going to be a lot more explosive. They’ve both seen what the other one has and they won’t be as tentative. I still think Stipe’s the better striker and he definitely has the reach advantage.
“It all depends if DC goes in there with the mindset just to wrestle, he could probably win, but I think he has an ego. He wants to strike with Stipe and that will be his downfall. I would definitely love to see that happen [with me against Stipe] but right now I’m focused on JDS and we’ll go from there.”
Do you agree with Curtis Blaydes? Would Stipe Miocic defeat Daniel Cormier in a trilogy bout?
