With so much uncertainty at heavyweight, Curtis Blaydes just trying to maintain

COLUMBUS, Ohio –  For the fourth time in five fights, Curtis Blaydes finds his name at the top of the UFC’s bill.

Blaydes (15-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) has his latest headline opportunity Saturday when he takes on Chris Daukaus (12-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the heavyweight main event at UFC on ESPN 33 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

It will be Blaydes’ fifth UFC main event overall; he’s 2-2 so far. In his most recent main event, Blaydes took a four-fight winning streak and the potential for a title shot into a fight with Derrick Lewis 13 months ago. He left with a second-round knockout loss.

But after a bounce-back win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Blaydes thinks a second straight win over someone the caliber of Daukaus could keep him right in a crowded title mix that includes champion Francis Ngannou, former interim champ Ciryl Gane, former champ Stipe Miocic and former light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones, who has yet to fight at heavyweight and is more than two years removed from his most recent bout at 205 pounds. There’s Tai Tuivasa and Lewis, too.

But Daukaus is the level of opponent Blaydes thinks keeps him in contention.

“He’s become a name in this company now,” Blaydes told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 33 media day. “He is highly ranked. You don’t just get ranked for nothing. A win over him, hopefully a finish over him, that keeps me in title contention. We don’t known what’s going on with Stipe, Jon, Gane, Ngannou – there’s a lot of stagnation. I’m really just trying to maintain my position.”

Daukaus had a four-fight winning streak of knockouts snapped by Lewis, himself, this past December in Las Vegas. Lewis put him away with a first-round knockout and became the UFC’s all-time KO leader in the process.

Blaydes is a 4-1 favorite over Daukaus, but isn’t resting on any laurels given the general power heavyweights bring to the table.

“We know he’s a very technical striker,” Blaydes said. “He has nice, crisp boxing. Obviously, he has jiu-jitsu – he’s a black belt. So you’ve got to be prepared for whatever – heel hooks, knee bars, whatever type of craziness he might be trying to whip out. That’s the beauty of this division: Everyone’s a threat. There isn’t any heavyweight that you should take like, ‘He’s just a guy.’ It’s heavyweight. Any 250-pound man hits you in the face, it could be lights out. That’s enough for me to get my full attention.”