Blaydes: Gameplan Will Never Be ‘Stand And Bang’

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Curtis Blaydes couldn’t land a single takedown against Junior dos Santos in the UFC Raleigh main event, which took place last weekend on ESPN+, but that didn’t stop “Razor” from scoring a violent, technical knockout finish against former heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos.

And now that Blaydes has positioned himself near the top of the 265-pound leaderboard, mixed martial arts (MMA) fans might be expecting the former NJCAA National Champion to rely more on his power, which travels behind an impressive 80” reach.

Ain’t gonna happen.

“I don’t like getting hit in the face,” Blaydes told reporters in Raleigh (via MMA Junkie). “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.”

Prior to thumping Dos Santos, Blaydes scored a whopping 30 takedowns across a span of six fights.

Unfortunately for “Razor,” he was already ranked No. 3 in the division heading into Raleigh, so he’s unlikely to see any forward progress when the new rankings get released later this week. In addition, a pair of technical knockout losses to the currently-booked Francis Ngannou are keeping him from an immediate title shot.

Unless Stipe Miocic doesn’t “do the right thing.”