Curtis Blaydes Reveals Lofty Goals If He Wins At UFC Beijing
Curtis Blaydes reveals his lofty goals should he get a win over former title contender Alistair Overeem in the headliner of UFC Beijing. This is a rematch between the two stars. Coming into this fight, Blaydes has won five straight since losing his UFC debut in April 2016.
While doing a recent interview with MMA Fighting, the rising contender stated that he doesn’t have a project in mind past this fight. However, he does think that he should get a crack at the UFC heavyweight title. That title is currently being held by Daniel Cormier. However, there’s a problem with that.
Cormier is expected to fight Brock Lesnar in the first quarter of 2019. Should that fight not take place then there’s a good chance that Cormier could fight Jon Jones for the third time. Coming into this fight, Blaydes understands the reality of the situation.
“I haven’t really tried to project past this fight because I did that previously with the Alistair Overeem fight. I projected, ‘Oh, I beat Alistair, then I should be going after the belt.’ Especially after I watched Derrick Lewis vs. Ngannou, I didn’t think either one of them, after the second round. I didn’t believe either one of them deserved the title shot.”
Once watching this fight between Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou at UFC 225, he just doesn’t see how they were the clear cut contenders. Obviously, Lewis got the title shot at UFC 230 and lost.
“Whoever won, I didn’t believe they deserved the title shot, so I was already in my head thinking I’m next. And then I get disappointed because I’m not next, so I just don’t want to do that to myself again. I’m just not going to project like that.”
Backup Plan
UFC Beijing (also known as UFC Fight Night 141) is set to take place on November 24, 2018, at Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China. Blaydes does have a backup plan. If he doesn’t get the title shot right away, he wants to take on Miocic.
“I guess the plan would be to ask for Stipe,” Blaydes said. “If we get it, great, because if I beat him then there’s no denying me. But that’s only if he accepts the fight. If he doesn’t, I really don’t know. I’d have to talk to my manager, talk to my coaches, get their input and go from there. It’s just a weird situation to be in, like limbo.”
