Curtis Blaydes has emerged as one of the most promising young fighters in MMA, a beast of a man and an accomplished wrestler who has shown cat-like agility inside the cage. The 6-foot-4 prospect has finished all five of his opponents and will bring his talents to the Ultimate Fighting Championship for the first time on April 10, when he meets Francis Ngannou at UFC Fight Night “Rothwell vs. Dos Santos” in Zagreb, Croatia.
The fact that Blaydes is still in the fetal stages of a pro fighting career makes the 25-year-old all the more intriguing. He last appeared at a Resurrection Fighting Alliance event on Feb. 19, when he stopped Luis Cortez on third-round punches. Cortez was on the defensive from the outset, as Blaydes dominated and then finished him. Blaydes won a junior college national wrestling championship at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, and while he appears to be a natural at tearing apart opponents inside the cage, this was not the path he initially chose.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do after I got out of school,” Blaydes told Sherdog.com. “I was living at home and wasn’t doing anything. A buddy of mine from high school who I wrestled with was into MMA. He kept asking me to go to his gym where he was doing boxing. His dad, who also did MMA, owned the gym, so I went and started training a little bit.”
Blaydes made an impression.
“I guess I was pretty good, so his dad wanted me to fight,” he said. “So I took a fight and I won pretty easily, but I didn’t have plans on actually doing this for a living. People kept telling me that I was good and that I should fight. They were believing in me that I could do this, so I kept training and here I am.”
Though winning has become a habit for Blaydes, he admits all he did well as an amateur fighter was wrestle. He worked tirelessly to improve his striking, on the feet and on the ground. Strides have been made, but Blaydes concedes he is still far away from where he wants to be.
“Early on in my amateur career, I was just pretty much wrestling then,” he said. “I would get the clinch and then hit the takedown. I didn’t have any transitions, really, but I always focused on my striking and everything else besides wrestling in the gym. When I turned pro and ever since, I’ve been doing pretty much everything else besides my wrestling. My goal is to get really effective with my striking and overall MMA game.”
Blaydes sounds like the rare breed of fighter who remains grounded despite possessing a limitless ceiling. Instead of partying at clubs, he prefers to stay home to read a good science-fiction novel or play video games. Outside of those hobbies, Blaydes is in the gym daily to hone his skills.
Ngannou figures to provide him with a stern test in his UFC debut. The once-beaten Frenchman has finished five consecutive opponents inside two rounds. Blaydes -- who replaced an injured Bojan Mihajlovic -- has designs on rising to the top of the division. He someday hopes to challenge the best of the best, including former training partner Stipe Miocic, who will meet Fabricio Werdum for the heavyweight crown in May.
“He’s a proven wrestler with decent hands,” Blaydes said. “He never really gasses out, either. I think he’s the quintessential heavyweight right now that does everything well. He’s definitely a ranked heavyweight that I would like to test my skills against when I’m ready.”