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Curtis Blaydes Tests Positive For COVID-19, Fight With Derrick Lewis Off

Heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has tested positive for COVID-19 and therefore his UFC Vegas 15 main event fight with popular puncher Derrick Lewis has been pulled from tomorrow night’s card Veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani took to social media to break the news. “Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis — tomorrow night’s UFC main event — […]

Heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has tested positive for COVID-19 and therefore his UFC Vegas 15 main event fight with popular puncher Derrick Lewis has been pulled from tomorrow night’s card

Veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani took to social media to break the news.

“Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis — tomorrow night’s UFC main event — has been canceled, per multiple sources,” Helwani wrote. “Blaydes has tested positive for COVID. The promotion is hoping to reschedule the fight in December, sources say, though that isn’t a done deal just yet.”

Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis — tomorrow night’s UFC main event — has been canceled, per multiple sources. Blaydes has tested positive for COVID.

The promotion is hoping to reschedule the fight in December, sources say, though that isn’t a done deal just yet.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 27, 2020

One-time 205lb title challenger Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith will now main event the show. He’ll be looking to snap his two-fight losing streak when he squares off against Devin Clark who is currently unranked at light-heavyweight.

Check out the updated UFC Vegas 15 fight card

~~Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick LewisCurtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis~~
Devin Clark vs. Anthony Smith
Josh Parisian vs. Parker Porter
Miguel Baeza vs. Takashi Sato
Bill Algeo vs. Spike Carlyle
Norma Dumont vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith
Martin Day vs. Anderson dos Santos
Gina Mazany vs. Rachael Ostovich
Kai Kamaka III vs. Jonathan Pearce
Malcolm Gordon vs. Su Mudaerji
Nate Maness vs. Luke Sanders

Will you still be tuning in to UFC Vegas 15 after this news regarding Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis?

Curtis Blaydes Doesn’t “Give A Damn” About Fan Criticism

UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes has no plans on changing his fighting style to please the masses. Following his unanimous decision victory over Alexander Volkov in June, Blaydes was the subject of heavy criticism for what many considered to be a very un…

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Curtis Blaydes Not Concerned With Derrick Lewis Power, Says He Has ‘Holes’ In His Striking

Curtis Blaydes is not too bothered by the power of Derrick Lewis. The two heavyweights collide in the UFC Vegas 15 headliner on Saturday in a fight that could determine the next person in line for a title shot. The threats from both sides are pretty easy — Blaydes has his wrestling while Lewis has […]

Curtis Blaydes is not too bothered by the power of Derrick Lewis.

The two heavyweights collide in the UFC Vegas 15 headliner on Saturday in a fight that could determine the next person in line for a title shot.

The threats from both sides are pretty easy — Blaydes has his wrestling while Lewis has his power. But as far as Blaydes is concerned, every heavyweight has power.

And despite Lewis boasting 19 of his 24 career wins by knockout, Blaydes sees plenty of holes in his striking.

“We’re heavyweights; power is a prerequisite,” Blaydes told MMA Junkie. “I’m not overly impressed with it. Do I understand he’s got it? Yes. But do I understand that he’s just looking to knock my head off? Yes. That’s what makes him predictable.

“He doesn’t use his jab. He doesn’t set up combinations. He doesn’t move his feet. When he throws his rear overhand, he brings up his rear leg, and he ends up in a square stance, which is the worst thing to do against a guy like me, so there’s just so many holes in his striking.”

Lewis has also been known to get taken down but does manage to find his way back to his feet — sometimes in comical fashion.

However, he is yet to face anyone with the grappling credentials that Blaydes boasts as the Chicago native intends on keeping him on the ground.

“People aren’t doing their research on who are the people taking him down, who are the people that he’s standing up against,” Blaydes said. “The thing is, he’s getting taken down by everybody. Blagoy Ivanov took him down. Ilir Latifi took him down. Alexander Volkov took him down. Marcin Tybura took him down. Everyone took him down, but these guys aren’t even good grapplers.

“When a good grappler takes you down, you don’t just get up. You need technique to get up, and that’s the thing: The UFC has protected him. He hasn’t gotten a good grappler. Now he’s getting one. He’s not just going to stand up. That’s disrespectful to all the years of wrestling I’ve put into my own game. I’ve worked too hard at this. The muscle memory is too locked in. That’s not how it works.”

In the end, Blaydes is a betting favorite for a reason and whether he gets a finish on Saturday night all depends on how much heart Lewis has according to him.

“You’re always hoping to get a finish, but it depends on him, how tough he is,” Blaydes said. “It’s a grind. I’m going to press him, get him up against the cage, get him on the ground. Take him down, ground and pound him, and if he makes it out of the round, rinse and repeat. If he makes it out of that round, rinse and repeat. If he makes it out of that round, rinse and repeat.

“Is he willing to go to the dark places? I’ve been to the dark places. My last fight against Volkov, I went to the dark place, and now I know how to operate within that space. I don’t think he’s ever been happy going to that place.”

What do you make of Blaydes’ comments?

Curtis Blaydes Doesn’t Believe Jon Jones Moves Up To Heavyweight

Curtis Blaydes still has his doubts that Jon Jones will move up to heavyweight. For years now, Jones has been linked to a potential move to heavyweight but has never done it. Yet, earlier this year, he vacated his light heavyweight title and made it cl…

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Curtis Blaydes Won’t Change Fighting Style To Please Fans: ‘I Don’t Want To Get CTE’

Curtis Blaydes will not be changing his fighting style anytime soon. Blaydes takes on Derrick Lewis in the UFC Vegas 15 headliner this weekend where a win could all but assure him of the next heavyweight title shot — after Francis Ngannou, of course. The Chicago native’s last outing was a unanimous decision victory over […]

Curtis Blaydes will not be changing his fighting style anytime soon.

Blaydes takes on Derrick Lewis in the UFC Vegas 15 headliner this weekend where a win could all but assure him of the next heavyweight title shot — after Francis Ngannou, of course.

The Chicago native’s last outing was a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Volkov in June and leading up to the fight, Blaydes notably declared that he would be ragdolling the Russian with his wrestling. However, it was a drab affair with Blaydes inflicting little significant damage before seemingly gassing out in the championship rounds.

It was still enough for him to earn the unanimous verdict but given his pre-fight comments in addition to criticism of fighter pay, UFC president Dana White didn’t hold back about his performance.

Don’t expect Blaydes to come out striking against Lewis, though.

If anything, the criticism from White as well as fans in general have only fueled him to continue fighting in his wrestling-heavy style.

“One of the best things for me about what happened then is that now, I don’t give a damn about what anybody says,” Blaydes told Yahoo Sports. “I have a family to provide for and whatever I have to do to accomplish that, that’s what I’m going to do. If that doesn’t fit into people’s idea of how I should fight, that’s not my problem.”

Blaydes is more than capable of striking and getting knockouts — he proved that against Junior dos Santos earlier this year when he TKO’d the former heavyweight champion on the feet.

However, the risks outweigh the rewards and Blaydes sees no point in trying to appease the fans if it means potentially losing out on half his win money.

“I could go out there like a madman and swing and punch and give people the bloody, crazy fight they want,” Blaydes explained. “But that’s not the best way for me to fight given my skills. And if I fight that way and people love it and I lose, are they going to pay my bills when I get half of my money? Are they going to care about me when I’m going to the hospital to get my brain checked?

“These people need to think about their jobs. If they go to work and they got half of the money for showing up and then they got the other half if they did all of these risky things, what would they think?”

More than anything, Blaydes wants to maintain a healthy brain and his style allows him to take minimal damage compared to other fighters who stand and bang.

“I think a lot of people think that MMA fighters are meatheads who don’t care about their bodies,” Blaydes added. “They think we don’t care about getting CTE and being able to live a long and healthy life. I don’t know about anyone else, I do care. I don’t want to get CTE. I want to have a healthy brain.

“I want to remember my daughter’s birthday when she’s 18. I don’t want to forget it. I don’t want to forget her name. I don’t want to forget where I put my car keys every day. The best way for me to do that is to protect myself. The best way to protect myself in the Octagon is simple: If I put you on your butt, you can’t hit me hard. So that’s what I’m going to do.”

What do you think of Blaydes’ comments?

What If Neither Jones Nor Ngannou Is Miocic’s Biggest Threat?

It’s the quiet ones that you have to watch out for the most. Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic has earned the right to be considered the consensus greatest heavyweight of all time. This recognition was not carried to Miocic by the wind; it…

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