UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has spoken out for the first time since he was knocked out by Derrick Lewis this past weekend.
Blaydes was a considerable favourite heading into the UFC Vegas 19 main event opposite ‘The Black Beast’.
‘Razor’ was riding a four-fight win streak dating back to 2018.
He’d consecutively beaten Justin Willis, Shamil Abdurakhimov, Junior dos Santos and Alexander Volkov to establish himself as a legitimate title contender before fighting Lewis.
‘The Black Beast’ had won three straight before UFC Vegas 19.
Lewis edged past Blagoy Ivanov before unanimously beating Ilir Latifi.
In August 2020, he knocked out Russian submission specialist Alexey Oleynik.
‘Razor started the fight well and was able to dictate round one with his boxing.
Things changed in round two when Blaydes ducked down in an attempt to drag his opponent to the mat.
Lewis let off a picture-perfect uppercut that knocked Blaydes out cold before following up with two huge, nasty ground strikes before referee Herb Dean was able to call the fight.
On Monday, Blaydes publicly commented on his knockout defeat for the first time.
“Sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail,” Blaydes wrote on his Instagram story. “This game has a razor thin margin for error and I just got caught, it happens. Props to Derrick. No shame in it my head’s still held high.”
Who do you want to see Curtis Blaydes fight next?