Curtis Blaydes would be happy to take on Sergei Pavlovich to elevate his ranking
Curtis Blaydes is seemingly unfazed by missing out on the next UFC heavyweight title shot and is willing to face Sergei Pavlovich instead.
Certain sections of the MMA community have lately lobbied for Blaydes to be given a title shot but to no avail.
During Saturday's UFC Vegas 67 post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou didn't re-sign with the UFC and would be released from the organization. The UFC president also confirmed that Ngannou would be stripped of the heavyweight title.
Additionally, White officially announced that Jon Jones would face former interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title at UFC 285 on March 4.
The UFC heavyweight rankings currently have Ciryl Gane at No. 1, Stipe Miocic at No. 2, Sergei Pavlovich at No. 3, and Curtis Blaydes at No. 4 in the rankings. Considering the aforementioned variables at play, Blaydes appears to have set his sights on potentially fighting Pavlovich.
'Razor' has asserted that he's fine with Gane being accorded another title shot and that he aims to fight the higher-ranked Pavlovich to ascend the ranks. Blaydes, who's consistently maintained that he hopes to earn a heavyweight title shot soon, tweeted:
"Obviously I’ve seen the news, Gane is getting another title shot vs Jones. Most likely I’ll be getting the Pavolich,that’s cool with me. Like I’ve been saying I just want my next opponent ranked above me so a win actually elevates my ranking #UFC"
Obviously I’ve seen the news, Gane is getting another title shot vs Jones. Most likely I’ll be getting the Pavolich,that’s cool with me. Like I’ve been saying I just want my next opponent ranked above me so a win actually elevates my ranking #UFC
Chael Sonnen views Curtis Blaydes as the toughest stylistic matchup for MMA legend Jon Jones
Prior to the UFC announcing the Jones-Gane matchup, a much-discussed matchup for Jon Jones' heavyweight debut was him possibly fighting Curtis Blaydes. The Jones-Blaydes fight isn't likely to materialize next, as Jones is already booked to fight Gane.
Regardless, Blaydes has often been touted as a bad stylistic matchup for the legendary former UFC light heavyweight champion.
In an edition of Beyond the Fight late last year, MMA fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen drew parallels between the wrestling credentials of Jones and Blaydes.
Sonnen alluded to the fact that they were both NJCAA All-American wrestlers. Moreover, he expounded upon Blaydes being the worst stylistic matchup for Jones. Sonnen said:
"We're going to look at Jon, we're gonna look at his wrestling right. Jon takes a guy down one time. When that guy gets up, whether that round ended or he scrambled to his feet, that person is now different. Can Jon take Curtis Blaydes down? You start to realize that when I tell you Curtis Blaydes stylistically is the biggest problem Jon's ever had, you start to see I'm right."
Watch Sonnen's assessment at 6:45 in the video below: