Curtis Blaydes is fueled by the haters following his wrestling-heavy win over Alexander Volkov at UFC on ESPN 11.
Blaydes (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) utilized his “universal game plan” of non-stop takedowns against Volkov (31-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) to win a unanimous decision Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He didn’t get much in the way of positive feedback after the fight, though, with UFC president Dana White even saying he looks “stupid” for not backing up his big talk on a number of topics heading into the fight.
It appears Blaydes doesn’t care about what White or anyone else thinks about his performance. In fact, he relishes those who don’t enjoy the style of fighting he employs.
“I know who I am now,” Blaydes told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC on ESPN 11 post-fight news conference. “I’m the heel. You don’t like what I do? I like to make you mad. I like to win. That’s probably the best part about this win, is I predicted this, and I did it. Twenty-five minutes. Didn’t look the best, but I’m OK with having a gritty win like that, and I know a lot of fans didn’t like it, and I’m OK with that. It makes me happy.”
In addition to his criticism of the in-cage effort, White advised that Blaydes keep busy in the heavyweight division while the current title scenario unfolds. Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier are scheduled to finish their trilogy for the belt Aug. 15 at UFC 252, and Francis Ngannou – who holds two wins over Blaydes – is on deck as the next contender.
Blaydes thinks he doesn’t have better options than to wait, though, and said he’s earned the right to see how things play out.
“Stay busy against who?” Blaydes said. “I fought Justin Willis, ranked below me. I fought (Shamil) Abdurakhimov, ranked below me. I fought Junior (Dos Santos), ranked below me. I fought Volkov, ranked below me. Like what? No. I don’t know, man. This is probably not the best time to answer that questions so I’m going to leave that alone.”
Curtis Blaydes embraces criticism after UFC on ESPN 11 win: 'I like to make you mad'