Curtis Blaydes Says He’s Been Dreaming Of Slipping Mark Hunt’s Uppercut
Curtis Blaydes faces Mark Hunt at UFC 221 on Feb. 11 and he’s excited about the opportunity he has ahead of him.
Blaydes has gone 3-1 (1 NC) under the UFC banner and will be appearing on his third straight pay-per-view event following appearances at UFC 213 and UFC 217 last year. Getting the opportunity to face Hunt is something he’s very much relishing and he explained why backstage this weekend at UFC 219.
“I’ve always respected Mark Hunt, but I don’t have his style,” Blaydes said. “You can’t help but respect a guy who has been doing it for as long as he has and at the level he has. I know he doesn’t have the best record, but he’s been fighting only the best of the best which is why I feel recognised because they gave me Mark Hunt so it means something.”
Preparing for someone like Hunt is no easy task given the lack of sparring partners that can easily replicate his body shape and size. Blaydes, however, says he’s been studying Hunt on tape and feels like he’s aware of his biggest threats.
“I watched a lot of his highlights and I can give you specific names, I don’t have the best MMA name recognition, but watched a lot of highlights of him dropping guys,” Blaydes said. “I know he’s got a nasty overhand and a nasty uppercut. It’s going to be fun. I can already see it now, like me slipping his uppercut and me like in my head thinking ‘Wow I just slipped Mark Hunts’ uppercut’ so there’s a lot of that, but it’s still a job and I still gotta go out there and win and that’s what I expect to do.”
Before Blaydes faces Hunt, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will defend his title against a man that Blaydes lost to in his UFC debut, Francis Ngannou. Blaydes gave his thoughts on the matchup.
“I’m very interested in the fight,” Blaydes said. “I think I was surprised how Alistair approached it going into the fight. Him being so ready and eager to like exchange which is kinda like what Ngannou wants to do, just slug it out. It only takes one, so I was surprised that he would engage him like that.
“I don’t think Stipe will do that. I think he will be more smart and I thin he will look to tie him up on the cage and tire him out. I think he will look to drag it into the third, fourth, fifth rounds. That’s how he wins. He’s not going to win in the first round and drop Ngannou in the first round. If he wants to win, he can’t get dropped in the first round.”
