"I'm a better overall fighter" - Curtis Blaydes details why he's a bad matchup for Stipe Miocic
Curtis Blaydes believes he’s a bad matchup for Stipe Miocic at this point in their respective careers. Speaking to The Schmo, the 31-year-old Blaydes addressed how a potential fight between himself and the 39-year-old Miocic would play out.
The Schmo highlighted the fact that Blaydes is no stranger to Miocic and had served as his training partner a few years back. Upon being asked about a possible showdown against the legendary Miocic, Blaydes stated:
“I believe I’m also faster than he is. I think I know I’m heavier than he is. I know I have the ability to take him down. I’ve already proven I can do that to myself while we sparred. So, I know I have that in my back pocket. I just believe that I’m a better overall fighter at this stage of my career than he is in his career.”
In his most recent fight, Blaydes faced highly-touted UK heavyweight prospect Tom Aspinall at UFC London on July 23. The fight witnessed Aspinall suffer a leg injury, resulting in Blaydes being declared the winner via first-round TKO.
Tom Aspinall lands a leg kick then falls to the ground in pain, ending the #UFCLondon main event.
Curtis Blaydes wins via TKO. https://t.co/GDJcOmyXHW
On the contrary, Miocic’s last fight saw him lose the UFC heavyweight title via second-round KO in his rematch against Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021. Miocic hasn’t fought since.
It’s been speculated that Miocic could fight fellow MMA great Jon Jones for the interim UFC heavyweight title this year, but nothing's been officially confirmed yet. Meanwhile, 'Razor' has expressed interest in fighting the winner of the upcoming Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa matchup that'll transpire this September in Paris.
Watch Blaydes discuss the topic at 2:54 in the video below:
Curtis Blaydes revisits his sparring sessions with Stipe Miocic
Presently, 'Razor' is ranked No. 4, whereas Stipe Miocic holds the No. 2 spot in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. Intriguingly, after his dominant second-round TKO win against Chris Daukaus in March this year, Blaydes respectfully suggested that he’d like to fight Miocic.
"I wanna be just like you Stipe. That means I may have to beat you, but I definitely respect the hell out of you."
@RazorBlaydes265 called out Stipe Miocic who was cageside at #UFCColumbus https://t.co/X7bhohRm6U
During the post-fight press conference after his win over Daukaus, Curtis Blaydes harked back to his sparring sessions with Stipe Miocic. ‘Razor’ notably worked as a sparring partner for Miocic. He helped Miocic prepare for his 2014 bout against Gabriel Gonzaga.
Giving his honest opinion regarding the time they spent training together and sparring with one another, Curtis Blaydes acknowledged that Stipe Miocic consistently got the better of him:
"We worked out together years ago back when I was not very good. He destroyed me every sparring. I have no awesome sparring stories. He was levels and levels about me."
Watch Blaydes recall his training sessions with Miocic in the video below: