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Curtis Blaydes has set his eyes on the UFC gold strap.
"Razor," a consistent heavyweight contender in the UFC, has not yet attempted to fight for the title in this category. Blaydes has rebounded with three straight victories after his most recent blemish, a loss to Derrick Lewis in February 2021.
Unfortunately for Blaydes, his most recent fight ended in a 15-second technical knockout victory over the promising British fighter Tom Aspinall. Aspinall's knee injury ended the fight, raising some questions about Blaydes' future prospects. Even with the victory, Blaydes was still able to lead the division because of victories over Chris Daukaus and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
According to MMA Junkie, Blaydes is now a potential choice for Jon Jones' divisional premiere challenger if a showdown involving "Bones" and the current champion Francis Ngannou does not eventuate.
“That’s about as far as I know, as well,” Blaydes told Fanatics View (h/t MMA Junkie). “But seeing as how it’s been reported by all these official MMA websites and authors, I think it’s legit, and I’m going to begin preparing when I get home after the holidays. I’ll be in champ mode or the mindset, so I’ll be ready. We’ll see what happens though.”
Ngannou is the only person to have ever defeated the 17-3 (1 NC) Blaydes in his career, in addition to the aforesaid Lewis. The 31-year-old is generally a dominant force because of his significant wrestling background, and his ultimate goal in life is to win a championship.
“Title shot, that’s the ultimate goal,” Blaydes said. “Jon is just the ultimate consolation, but what you workout for every day is the real belt, not the interim belt. The real belt.”
Francis Ngannou’s injury has put a great halt in the progress of the heavyweight division in the UFC. With Jon Jones's intention to fight for the title on his return to the octagon has been the real issue. At one moment UFC tried to arrange an interim title shot between the former champion Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones but it never came to fruition. While Ngannou’s future still remains uncertain, rumors are being circulated that Bones might be matched up against Blaydes or Ciryl Gane.