Curtis Blaydes downplays current heavyweight contenders, says division peaked with Francis Ngannou and Cain Velasquez
Curtis Blaydes recently downplayed the current landscape of heavyweight contenders and noted that the era of Francis Ngannou and Cain Velasquez is when the division peaked. Despite being a top-ranked contender, he recalled the previous eras for having a lot more depth in the top-10.
Ngannou and Velasquez are regarded as two of the top heavyweights in UFC history, especially with how they ascended the rankings to become champions. They both ruled the division and had signature wins that are still talked about among the MMA community.
While speaking to Home of Fight, Blaydes reflected on the caliber of talent in the heavyweight division when he joined the UFC in 2016. 'Razor' mentioned that he holds those competitors in high regard and admitted that he doesn't believe the current heavyweight division measure up:
"I look at some of the guys are ranked right now and I don't feel a lot of them as threats. I remember when I first got in the UFC in 2016, we still had Andrei Arlovski, Junior [dos Santos], [Mark] Hunt, [Cain] Velasquez, [Francis] Ngannou. There was just a lot more names. Stipe [Miocic], [Fabricio] Werdum. Only OGs."
Check out Curtis Blaydes' comments below:
Curtis Blaydes shares thoughts on UFC heavyweight division post-Francis Ngannou
Curtis Blaydes also shared his opinion about the state of the UFC's heavyweight division after his former foe Francis Ngannou departed.
During the aforementioned clip, Blaydes mentioned that the lack of depth is a natural progression for the division and noted that it can significantly improve if heavyweight competitors begin MMA at a younger age:
"It comes in waves, so maybe in another five years we'll get 8-9 great young heavyweights in the UFC. But, I'm not overly worried about it because I think as the sport grows, you'll get a lot more bigger guys who start to lean into MMA earlier... I think in two more years, we'll start to see those guys in the UFC and it'll be a better division overall."
Check out the full interview with Curtis Blaydes below: