After UFC on ESPN+ 24 win, Curtis Blaydes willing to wait for title shot – but not too long

RALEIGH, N.C. – Curtis Blaydes won by second-round TKO at UFC on ESPN+ 24 on Saturday by utilizing his “Plan Z.”

The wrestle-heavy fighter usually resorts to grappling, but he struggled to take former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos (21-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC) to the canvas. While it wasn’t his first, second, or even his third option, Blaydes (13-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) used his punching power to pick up the victory.

“I just used my wrestling to set up my hands,” Blaydes told MMA Junkie post-fight. “After that first round where I went 0-for-8 in the shots, we knew he was really committed to not letting me get him to the ground. We used those openings I created with the pump fakes and the high-lows. We capitalized with the overhand.

“… That’s the best path to victory. I don’t like getting hit in the face. I know if I put you on your butt, you can’t hit me. I don’t mean to be mean to the fans. I know they want me to stand and bang, but it’s not ever going to be my gameplan. It’s always going to be wrestle, wrestle, wrestle, wrestle, wrestle. Plan Z is strike.”

With the win, Blaydes has picked up three straight victories. A winner of seven of his most recent eight fights, Blaydes could be on the verge of a title shot. However, the top of the division is crowded. Former UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier, former title challenger Francis Ngannou, and surging big man Jairzinho Rozenstruik all loom.

Is Blaydes next? It’s not his decision to make, he said.

“I don’t know,” Blaydes said. “I don’t make the rules. I’d like that to be a title shot, but you never know. I hope. That’s all I can do is hope.”

Blaydes said he’d be willing to sit on the sidelines if it means a title shot would be next. However, the Team Elevation product doesn’t want to wait too long, either.

“Eight months is way, way too much,” Blaydes said. “I like to be active. I like to get in at least three fights a year. I could wait five to six months, but nothing I say tonight is in stone. It literally just happened. Who knows what happens with Ngannou, Rozenstruik, DC – I don’t know what’s going on.”