Heavyweights are on tap for the UFC’s Columbus show.
According to MMA Fighting the UFC’s event scheduled for March 26 in Columbus, OH has found its new headliner. That outlet reports that heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus have agreed to meet on that date for a five-round tilt.
MMA Fighting says both parties have verbally agreed to the bout, but that contracts are yet to be signed. This bout replaces the previously announced main event of Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksander Rakic. That match-up has been postponed after the former UFC light heavyweight champion Blachowicz suffered an injury.
Blaydes is currently ranked fourth in the UFC’s heavyweight division behind only Derrick Lewis, Stipe Miocic, Ciryl Gane and undisputed champion Francis Ngannou. His only pro losses are to two of those men.
The 15-3 (1 NC) Blaydes first tasted defeat in doctor stoppage (swollen eye) loss to Ngannou in 2016. Those two met again in 2018 and the outcome was far more definitive, with Blaydes succumbing to a 45-second TKO.
His third loss was to Lewis, by KO, at the UFC APEX last year. Between losses Blaydes has had long winning streaks were he notched wins against Alexey Oleynik, Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and Alxeander Volkov. Most recently he defeated Jarizinho Rozenstruik, by unanimous decision, at UFC 266.
Daukaus currently occupies the seventh spot in the rankings. He broke into the UFC in 2020 and announced himself with a TKO win over Parker Porter. He followed that up with stoppage wins over Rodrigo Nascimento, Alexey Oleynik and Shamil Adurakhimov.
Last time out, in the main event of UFC Vegas 45 in December, Daukaus suffered his first UFC loss — a KO to Derrick Lewis.