Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
With UFC 246 in the rear-view mirror (full recap here), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to stage its second event of 2020 as UFC Fight Night 166 is set to go down this Saturday night ( Jan. 25, 2020) PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The event — which will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ — will feature a Heavyweight showdown as Curtis Blaydes faces former division champion, Junior dos Santos. Blaydes is looking for his third straight win, while “Cigano” wants to get back on track after getting knocked out by Francis Ngannou in his last outing (see it here).
Before the two big men throw down, let’s take a trip down memory lane to see one of Curtis’ biggest wins inside the Octagon.
Back in 2019, “Razor” found himself staring down one of the heaviest hitters in all of MMA, as he was tasked to fight Alistair Overeem at UFC 225. Up to that point, Curtis was on a four-fight win streak and was fresh off a win over Mark Hunt. Overeem, meanwhile, was coming off a tough loss to the aforementioned Francis Ngannou.
The first round didn’t see much action, as the two heavy hitters were cautious in an effort to avoid getting tagged with a huge shot. Halfway through the round, “Razor” managed to score a takedown, though he didn’t do much with it.
In round two, Overeem tagged Curtis with a huge strike, though he managed to shake it off and score another takedown and nearly pulled off a guillotine choke. Blaydes controlled the remainder of the round with another takedown in his pocket.
After taking “The Reem” down in round three once again, Blaydes unleashed a vicious onslaught of ground-and-pound which busted “The Reem” open pretty badly. Having seen enough, the referee decided it was time to put an end to the punishment. Now, Curtis will look to put his name in the title conversation when he faces the always-dangerous dos “JDS” in a pivotal 265-pound collision.
To learn more about UFC Fight Night 166 click here.