Curtis Blaydes getting a raw deal

[legcramp]

Blackraw feat. Curtis Blaydes & Vanessa Hanson.

 

[Chalky White]

I don’t see what Blaydes has for Jones, I don’t know what people are seeing in that matchup. Thankfully, we won’t have to watch it since Pavlovich will lay him out soon.

 

[BruceyD]

stipe is a money draw? since when?

id never describe him as someone who puts butts in the seats

I wouldn't really describe him that way either. It's obvious the UFC is gonna try to sell the hell out of the whole LHW Goat vs HW Goat.

 

[Safton]

I see no reason to keep Blaydes away from Jon. I think Jon is not likely to get wrestle-fucked in an MMA match by any human walking God's green earth and his striking is leagues ahead of Curtis. So in a 5 round fight I have to favour him to finish Blaydes, either by TKO or sub.

Yeah, I see no reason to believe why one of the best defensive grapplers on the entire UFC roster ever would became atrocious at that skill set when getting bigger and moving up to Heavyweight even if he's slightly out of his athletic prime now. Even as a Blaydes fan I also think his own offensive grappling has deteriorated with time.

If Curtis wins a hypothetical fight with Jones, it's through sprawl & brawl IMO. Would I be surprised if he tried to mix in the threat of the takedown here or there? No, not particularly. But if he tried to just go out and ground Jon repeatedly he'd be in for a long and sad night IMO. As for who I'd favor ultimately... I would need to see how Curtis looks against Pavlovich and how Jon looks against Stipe. Jones for whatever reason made it sound like he wasn't comfortable striking after the Gane fight after his time off and the new weight and if that visibly carries into the Stipe fight while Blaydes looked really good against Pavlovich, maybe that would be enough to sway me to pick Curtis as an underdog.

 

[mudrubble]

Yeah, I see no reason to believe why one of the best defensive grapplers on the entire UFC roster ever would became atrocious at that skill set when getting bigger and moving up to Heavyweight even if he's slightly out of his athletic prime now. Even as a Blaydes fan I also think his own offensive grappling has deteriorated with time.

If Curtis wins a hypothetical fight with Jones, it's through sprawl & brawl IMO. Would I be surprised if he tried to mix in the threat of the takedown here or there? No, not particularly. But if he tried to just go out and ground Jon repeatedly he'd be in for a long and sad night IMO. As for who I'd favor ultimately... I would need to see how Curtis looks against Pavlovich and how Jon looks against Stipe. Jones for whatever reason made it sound like he wasn't comfortable striking after the Gane fight after his time off and the new weight and if that visibly carries into the Stipe fight while Blaydes looked really good against Pavlovich, maybe that would be enough to sway me to pick Curtis as an underdog.

Yeah I'd have to see how their next two fights play out but I don't imagine Jon being dominated by Curtis tbh. If Curtis is sprawling and bawling, he better mind that bawling because that can get him dropped and finished against a striker like Jon.

Jon said he felt goofy striking but he did a much better job of it than Gane did, who only looked goofier.

 

[Safton]

Yeah I'd have to see how their next two fights play out but I don't imagine Jon being dominated by Curtis tbh. If Curtis is sprawling and bawling, he better mind that bawling because that can get him dropped and finished against a striker like Jon.

I don't see any version of the fight that ends with Jon getting dominated. I don't really know where that narrative ever came from surrounding Curtis and the threat he and his wrestling base pose to Jon. If Blaydes were to win -- which is a fairly big "if" -- it would have to be by somehow recreating what Dominick was able to do, but up at Heavyweight. And even though I scored that fight for Reyes, it was by no means a "domination" or anything of the sort.

Jon said he felt goofy striking but he did a much better job of it than Gane did, who only looked goofier.

Well yeah, Ciryl clearly had no idea what he wanted to do in there and it showed. I'm just saying that Jon clearly felt that his striking game was in some way inadequate and felt awkward engaging on the feet; if we see him still not "feeling himself" against Old Man Stipe in July -- say maybe he looks really stiff and plodding, gets hit clean more than he should, and lacks a lot of the fluidity and shot selection he had before -- then that would give me reason to be concerned against Curtis who is by this point a pretty competent striker. Especially if Blaydes -- in this hypothetical scenario -- is fresh off a decisive victory over the Russian boogeyman in Pavlovich where he looks especially sharp.

I hope that logic makes some sort of sense rather than coming across as me rambling.

 

[Fact Checker]

Kinda hard to take him serious when the only image people have of him is drooling and crying on Black Beasts HL reel…


<{chips}>

 

[AmonTobin]

The UFC are constantly trying to keep this guy away from a title fight. Yes, he has a black eye on his record with a KO loss to Derrick Lewis, but he's 3-0 again since that loss. He clearly deserves to fight for the title far more than Stipe Miocic, but my guess is the UFC will keep him as far from Jon Jones as they can.

He's fighting Pavlovich in a title eliminator match, isn't he? That match was made before Jones-Stipe fight was announced, so it seems fair to me.

 

[DebtCollectorMMA]

Blaydes vs Bones has a ring to it

But Stipe needs the fight ASAP, Blaydes has time

 

[mudrubble]

I don't see any version of the fight that ends with Jon getting dominated. I don't really know where that narrative ever came from surrounding Curtis and the threat he and his wrestling base pose to Jon. If Blaydes were to win -- which is a fairly big "if" -- it would have to be by somehow recreating what Dominick was able to do, but up at Heavyweight. And even though I scored that fight for Reyes, it was by no means a "domination" or anything of the sort.



Well yeah, Ciryl clearly had no idea what he wanted to do in there and it showed. I'm just saying that Jon clearly felt that his striking game was in some way inadequate and felt awkward engaging on the feet; if we see him still not "feeling himself" against Old Man Stipe in July -- say maybe he looks really stiff and plodding, gets hit clean more than he should, and lacks a lot of the fluidity and shot selection he had before -- then that would give me reason to be concerned against Curtis who is by this point a pretty competent striker. Especially if Blaydes -- in this hypothetical scenario -- is fresh off a decisive victory over the Russian boogeyman in Pavlovich where he looks especially sharp.

I hope that logic makes some sort of sense rather than coming across as me rambling.

You, sir, are not a rambler - you're making complete sense, and good sense to boot!

I do like Curtis but I think him recreating what Dominic did is, at best, unlikely, as you point out. And I had that fight scored for Dominic as well. But these guys are talking like the UFC has to protect Jon from wrestlers all of a sudden and the inside secret is that Curtis beats Jon, which sounds like a longshot to anyone thinking.

If Jon looks bad against Stipe, I could see it as well. But if he feels good in his gym sparring, I have to trust that Jon is the kind of guy who can make that striking work in a live fight. I think he was just being a perfectionist when he said that. I'm not reading more into it because he just backed Cyril down and pulled him down in seconds. He may be out of live fight practice but if that's goofy, a lot of fighters need to start training goofy!

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

The UFC are constantly trying to keep this guy away from a title fight. Yes, he has a black eye on his record with a KO loss to Derrick Lewis, but he's 3-0 again since that loss. He clearly deserves to fight for the title far more than Stipe Miocic, but my guess is the UFC will keep him as far from Jon Jones as they can.

Grapplers always will, look at how quick Fitch/Shields/Okami got cut, fight like Tuivasa and not Blaydes would be the message

 

[Jonesisnatural]

He got annihilated by Francis and derrick
Plus he's had several boring performances.
He's gonna have to make a big statement if he wants the next one. I suspect if he wins he gets aspinall again in an eliminator.
To be fair, he's had like 3 chances to earn either a ts or number one contenders fight and has failed every time

 

[Paolo Delutis]

The UFC are constantly trying to keep this guy away from a title fight. Yes, he has a black eye on his record with a KO loss to Derrick Lewis, but he's 3-0 again since that loss. He clearly deserves to fight for the title far more than Stipe Miocic, but my guess is the UFC will keep him as far from Jon Jones as they can.

If he beats Pav...he can not be denied..

Last time i checked he's a fighter...fighters fight...

So Fight Pav win...call out Jones...

If he cant beat Pav what kind of title challenger will be anyways or champion for that matter...as Pav will likely be his opponent at some point or another anyways...

Why put off to tomorrow what you can get done today

 

[Kenny Powerth]

It should have been
Stipe
Blaydes
Winner of the Pavlovich fight
Someone
Someone
JJ

that’s the bigger issue here

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Blaydes has had opportunities to put himself in line for the title that he has simply failed on. Both Francis loses, and getting epically KO'd by Lewis. On top of that, this isn't really a 3 fight win streak considering his last fight was won by injury and Blaydes does himself no favors publicly declining proposed match ups like he does

who has blaydes ever declined? I've seen years of him asking for Stipe, asking for Gane, asking for a third shot at Francis.

He made one mistake vs Lewis (at the end of Lewis prime) and dominated everyone that dared to step in cage not named Francis so far.

To beat the unbeaten Jon Jones. Man who KO'd Cormier and never got held down by him. Blaydes is the man to end his unbeaten streak all of a sudden..... by.... holding him on the mat? All 248 lbs of him? Cormier couldn't hold down 225 lbs of him but all of a sudden he's easy to hold down for 5 solid rounds??

I like Curtis. I really do. But where does this faith in him come from??

Well when Cormier was hw champion he said he'd not fight blaydes saying that he was too young and strong for him. So maybe a huge hw wrestler is more of a threat than a dehydrated lhw DC. But you are right no one beats Jon easy I'm sure. Remember that the UFC offered to make Jones vs Blaydes for this title fight an Jones' passed on him and it was switched to Gane Jon is far less confident that you.

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Maybe he should try fighting more...?

His last fight was a year ago in that fluke injury "win" against Aspinall. Before that was Daukaus, and before that Roz way back in 2021. That's his current streak.

Go beat a current contender if you want a title shot lol. If he gets by Sergei, okay he's got a recent win. Let's talk then.

You can't force people to fight you. Blaydes has spent his time since the Aspinall offering to fight Stipe/gane/Tai/pav/jones they all chose to fight each or sit out instead.

 

[Cartiac]

So we are just going to try to continue the same thing changing Gane to Blaydes. Jon won't waste his time beating Blaydes, can he even dunk a basketball?

 

[mudrubble]

Well when Cormier was hw champion he said he'd not fight blaydes saying that he was too young and strong for him. So maybe a huge hw wrestler is more of a threat than a dehydrated lhw DC. But you are right no one beats Jon easy I'm sure. Remember that the UFC offered to make Jones vs Blaydes for this title fight an Jones' passed on him and it was switched to Gane Jon is far less confident that you.

Daniel is full of self-effacing compliments to other fighters. He also said Gane would beat him or he wouldn't take that fight..... that's just DC.

And I don't think Jon passed over Curtis for Gane because he wasn't confident. I think he made the best choice for his career - a soaring "HW phenom" that has a whole country backing him and fights an exciting style, and was previous interim champ HAS to trump a "boring wrestler" that only die-hards on Sherdog are aware of.

How you boil that down to lack of confidence is curious to me. Did Jon say something that made you think he doubted his ability vs Blaydes or was the simple fact that he was looking for a BIG comeback fight the only factor leading you to this conclusion?

 

[Safton]

You, sir, are not a rambler - you're making complete sense, and good sense to boot!

Much appreciated!

I do like Curtis but I think him recreating what Dominic did is, at best, unlikely, as you point out. And I had that fight scored for Dominic as well. But these guys are talking like the UFC has to protect Jon from wrestlers all of a sudden and the inside secret is that Curtis beats Jon, which sounds like a longshot to anyone thinking.

I could certainly see Curtis doing it in the sense that the roadmap is theoretically there but I say this with the disclaimer that it may be my fanboyism for Blaydes speaking. As for the idea that the secret to beating Jon is to wrestle him... I don't see it. Jon is one of the most thoroughly unwrestlefuckable fighters ever. 95% TDD with 41 seconds of bottom position time across his entire career is fucking absurd considering how many fights he's had and how many of those were against elite wrestlers/BJJ guys. Again, I get that people may think that he's fighting bigger men now while outside of his athletic prime and maybe he's lost a step... but those skills don't just disappear and Heavyweights in general just aren't as technical, especially when it comes to grappling. The idea of Jon Jones being the Alex Pereira of the Heavyweight Division who's being protected from those dreaded wrestlers looking to take him down is just... really weird.

If the narrative was framed in such a way as "Yeah, but put him against more big natural Heavyweights that have actual grappling/wrestling bases that they can use defensively against Jon's wrestling to try and keep the fight standing and then we'll see how he does!" Then I would objectively understand it more.

If Jon looks bad against Stipe, I could see it as well. But if he feels good in his gym sparring, I have to trust that Jon is the kind of guy who can make that striking work in a live fight. I think he was just being a perfectionist when he said that. I'm not reading more into it because he just backed Cyril down and pulled him down in seconds. He may be out of live fight practice but if that's goofy, a lot of fighters need to start training goofy!

No, I totally get it. I agree that Jon looked just fine standing in that fight to me, he landed some solid punches on Gane and was able to implement his game on him. I think he was being self-deprecating. I'm just saying that if there is something he legitimately feels he's struggling with and it does rear its ugly head in a fight that makes it out of the first round against someone like Stipe, then that's something that would cause me to take notice and potentially fade Jones moving forward. I don't necessarily believe it will be an issue. I was just building a potential hypothetical for what things might have to happen to get me to back Blaydes.

 

[mudrubble]

So we are just going to try to continue the same thing changing Gane to Blaydes. Jon won't waste his time beating Blaydes, can he even dunk a basketball?

If Jon fights Blaydes, bet you $10 the next day will see Sherdog full of threads of who the UFC is protecting him from next (Pav, Aspinall, etc.)