Curtis Blaydes is really gunning for a fight with Stipe Miocic.
Normally, someone in Blaydes’ position would likely be gearing up for a UFC heavyweight title shot. He is coming off five straight wins over some of the division’s most elite competition.
His last Octagon outing resulted in a devastating third round TKO win over Alistair Overeem. After Daniel Cormier’s UFC heavyweight title win at UFC 226 earlier this year, things went horribly wrong for Blaydes.
Former UFC heavyweight champion and pay-per-view (PPV) attraction Brock Lesnar returned to the promotion. Dana White has confirmed he will be Cormier’s next challenger for the heavyweight title. Cormier even openly stated that he has no interest in fighting Blaydes at this point in his career.
This leaves Blaydes in a tough situation. With Lesnar vs. Cormier not being eligible to take place until January, the 27-year-old will likely be forced to fight again. If that’s the case, he’d like to fight the man Cormier defeated for the heavyweight title – Stipe Miocic.
Miocic is statistically the most successful heavyweight champion in UFC history, as he was the first to defend it successfully three consecutive times. Blaydes has respectfully called out Miocic in recent weeks.
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Blaydes revealed that the UFC has offered Miocic a fight against him at UFC Denver on November 10th. Blaydes hopes Miocic signs the contract, as neither one of them will receive their deserved shot at the title anytime soon:
“I don’t feel like it’s my right to tell another athlete, let alone another man, how he should feel about a situation, but if it were me, he has a legitimate claim for the rematch [against Cormier], but I also have a legitimate claim for a title shot now. It is what it is,” Blaydes said.
“Neither one of us is going to get that title shot this year. We’ve still got five months left in the year. I don’t want to wait that long. I want to get another one in before the holidays start. The UFC, they’re behind it, because like I said, it makes sense. It’s a good matchup, it would be a good fight.
“He’s good, I’m good, we’re both good wrestlers. My hands have gotten a lot better. I want to showcase the skills I’ve been developing, and I just think, because I live here in the Denver area, I live 15 minutes away from downtown Denver, so I feel like it’ll help me grow a fanbase here.
“This is where I live now. I don’t know how Stipe sees the callout … but I’m hoping he’s really considering it. Really, for him, it’s either he fights me or he waits until April. I mean, that’s a long wait. I want to make my argument for a title shot stronger. And that’s what Stipe does.”
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