UFC Fight Night 166 didn’t disappoint for the first ever event being held in Raleigh, NC.
The event which was headlined by the number 3 heavyweight and chicago native Curtis Blaydes, who has his eyes on a potential title shot later this year, handled business pretty swiftly against the seasoned veteran Junior Dos Santos; Dos Santos is currently rated the number 4 title contender within the division.
Curtis Blaydes, who is a expert at grappling, wrestling and ground and pound told us Thursday during open workouts, no one has ever forced him to step out of his comfort zone (wrestling) to fight their type of fight.
That narrative was contrary to begin the fight in round 1. Dos Santos who wanted to brawl with Blaydes in the middle of the octagon, made it quite clear that was his objective during the first minute in the octagon, using his defensive prowess to avoid any take downs from the pressure minded Blaydes.
Every chance Blaydes seemed to see an opening to try and wrestle Dos Santos down on the canvas, Junior would side step him, pushing Curtis back to avoid pressure.
The turning point in the fight occurred early in the first round when Junior threw a hard, but slow upper cut that missed Blaydes by a mile.
Consequently, Curtis baited Junior to throw that punch.
Seconds later Curtis took a step back and baited Junior once again to throw that same slow uppercut but this time as Junior winded up the uppercut without keeping his lead hand protecting his jaw, Curtis had a right overhand sitting on Juniors jawbone which ultimately stunned Junior. A combo of punches followed, forcing the referee to stop the bout at 1:06 in the second round.
Blaydes who spoke with media stated,
“obviously the game plan was to wrestle, but he wasn’t letting that happen, so I had to adjust and rely on my striking more”
Blaydes on whats next for him for 2020?
“I want the belt next. I don’t want to wait long but I can do four or five months if that works out”
Worth mentioning, the Chicago native only two losses came from the same man. Yes that bad man Francis Ngannou, who is sending shockwaves through the entire division with his menacing power and striking ability.
Flip the page to see Curtis speak briefly on his plans next for 2020.