Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 19: Curtis Blaydes poses on the scale during the UFC weigh-in at UFC APEX on February 19, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 19: Curtis Blaydes poses on the scale during the UFC weigh-in at UFC APEX on February 19, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
UFC heavyweight, Curtis Blaydes, suffered a massive setback at UFC Vegas 19 as he was KO’ed cleanly by Derrick Lewis. ‘The Black Beast’ robbed Blaydes of his number 2 ranking and his consciousness to earn the most knockouts in UFC history. Lewis has surpassed greats such as Anthony Johnson and Anderson Silva to become the leader with 12 KO’s.
Blaydes had a productive opening round against Lewis as he out-landed the Houston native 27-3 in round one. However, the tide shifted at the start of round 2 when Blaydes began searching for the takedown over ‘The Black Beast’. Derrick Lewis found Blaydes’ chin and landed an uppercut from hell that sparked Curtis Blaydes onto the canvas.
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OMG!!! 💥@TheBeast_UFC does it again! #UFCVegas19 pic.twitter.com/hUpgHRGgFS
— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 2021
Chiefly, the loss is detrimental to ‘Razor’ Blaydes since he was the clear-cut next contender to fight for gold. His spot will now move over to Derrick Lewis, who came in as the number 4 ranked heavyweight in the world. It’s back to the drawing board for Blaydes, who hadn’t lost to anyone except Francis Ngannou before tonight.
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Curtis ‘Razor’ Blaydes could fight Gane or Rozenstruik?
The 14-3 fighter snapped a four-fight win streak in his most recent loss to Derrick Lewis in the main event. He’s largely managed to clean out the heavyweight division and has been dominant in his victories to this point. However, there are always match-ups that will make sense to bring him back to a title shot.
Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 19: (L-R) Opponents Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis face off during the UFC weigh-in at UFC APEX on February 19, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
The match-up that makes the most sense for Blaydes would be the winner of Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Cyril Gane. The bout is on the horizon and makes sense from a rankings point of view. Gane is ranked number 7 while ‘Bigi Boy’ is ranked number three in the world. Additionally, the bout makes sense from a timing perspective, seeing as how all parties will have fought close to the same time period.
Curtis Blaydes has proven that he’s at the top of the heavyweight contender list and deserves an opportunity back to contention quickly. Fighting the winner of Rozenstruik vs Gane is his quickest way back to the top. New names like Tom Aspinall and Chris Daukaus have emerged as prospects, however, they still have a ways to go.
Who do you think will stand across ‘Razor’ for his next bout?
