Curtis Blaydes has made his prediction for the next heavyweight title fight.
There’s no longer a champion at heavyweight as Francis Ngannou has said his farewells to the division (and promotion) by testing free agency. The vacant throne will be overtaken by either Jon Jones or Ciryl Gane as the two stars collide at UFC 285.
Blaydes, the #4 contender in the world, was passed up on the so-desired UFC title shot. While Blaydes pivots to a potential fight with fellow contender Sergei Pavlovich, it’s safe to say ‘Razor’ will be paying close attention to the super-fight between Jones and Gane.
Blaydes Predicts The Razor-Close Fight Between Jones vs. Gane
Ahead of the March madness, Blaydes has settled on who he thinks takes home the bacon.
“It’s all about the mindset that Jon has,” Blaydes told Middle Easy. “Like does he wanna just win? Cause if he does, he wrestles. We know he’s got the wrestling, we know he’s got the jiu-jitsu and we know that Ciryl Gane has shown a major hole in that area. Does he have the mindset of ‘hey, I wanna prove to people that I can beat guys at heavyweight exactly how I beat guys at light heavyweight’ and that was with on the feet and being creative and open.
“The only issue is if you do, if you play that game, that game opens you up. Like if you throw something heavy and you miss and he slips and he hits you, are you gonna be able to eat that the way you were able to eat it at light heavyweight? I don’t know. So it all depends on Jon’s mindset.
“But, I think he’s going to have the mind for him that he wants to make a statement immediately,” Blaydes added. “He just wants to win. I think he wrestles, so I think he wins.”
Blaydes On How He Would Approach Fighting Jones
Blaydes later broke down what a fight with ‘Bones’ would look like should the former champ win pick up another belt in his heavyweight debut.
“Jones is special,” Blaydes said, when discussing a potential fight with Jones. “He’s long, he’s very creative with the feet. He’s got teeps, he’s got elbows. He’s got all the stuff. I would have to be the one to establish my range early with my jab and my calf kicks. I’d hope to hurt him with the calf kicks cause he doesn’t have the legs of a heavyweight. So, I think my heavy legs, like we see what happened with [Tom] Aspinall. He hit me in the leg and hurt his knee.
“I think if I’m repeatedly smashing into Jones’ calves, I get him to be more hesitant. I’m able to take over and put him on his back heel, get him on the cage. He’s a good wrestler, so the takedowns will not be easy, but I believe I could find it. Even in the clinch, I believe I’m stronger than he is. I believe he’s got the skill, but sometimes the heavyweight strength outweighs skill.
