UFC on ESPN+ 24 free fight: Curtis Blaydes bloodies Alistair Overeem with elbows for finish

They don’t call him “Razor” Blaydes for nothing.

Curtis Blaydes was heading into his highest profile fight to date, when he took on Alistair Overeem in June 2018 at UFC 225. He entered having won his last three in a row, or quite possibly five, if his second-round TKO over Adam Milstead hadn’t been overturned because of a positive drug test for marijuana.

Blaydes (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) put on his best performance, using his strong wrestling to get Overeem on the mat and brutalizing him with heavy ground-and-pound in Round 3.

After a feeling-out process early, Blaydes eventually landed the takedown midway through Round 1, finishing the round on top. Overeem started Round 2 a little more aggressively, landing a knee and clipping Blaydes with an overhand right, forcing him to shoot. Overeem latched onto a guillotine, but Blaydes was able to break free. The two would make their way back to their feet before Blaydes took it right back to the mat.

But in Round 3, Blaydes started to open up more, backing Overeem to the cage with some hard shots that appeared to hurt him. He decided to change levels and take down Overeem, signaling the beginning of the end.

After some top control, Blaydes postured up and dropped one elbow after the other, which opened a nasty gash on Overeem’s head. A couple more elbows, and the referee was forced to stop the fight.

The finish earned Blaydes a “Performance of the Night” bonus, and the two would later end up becoming training partners, as Overeem made the trip to Colorado to train with Blaydes at “Elevation Fight Team.”

Blaydes returns to action this Saturday, when he headlines UFC on ESPN+ 24 against former UFC heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos. Blaydes’ only two career losses have come to the same man, Francis Ngannou, as Blaydes will attempt to solidify himself as a top heavyweight contender with a win over dos Santos.

In the meantime, watch the video above to check out one of Blaydes’ finest performances.