Curtis Blaydes has a certain date in mind for a showdown with UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
Blaydes is coming off the biggest win thus far in his pro-MMA career when he scored a KO over former title contender Alistair Overeem on the preliminary portion of the UFC 225 pay-per-view event at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Keep in mind that Miocic already has his next fight lined up and it’s going to be a big one.
The UFC heavyweight champ is slated to take on UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the main event of the upcoming UFC 226 pay-per-view event.
In a recent interview, Blaydes gave his prediction for this upcoming fight as well as when he thinks he’ll fight Miocic.
“I’m gonna take Stipe,” Blaydes told host Jason Kindschy. “I like his kickboxing, his footwork, his conditioning. I know that DC is a good wrestler but Stipe is a pretty good wrestler himself. I think he’s got a lot more advantages. I think he gets the finish — but probably into the fourth round, maybe fifth.”
“They’re both challenges, and I don’t think either one of them is easier or harder than the other,” Blaydes told BJPenn.com. “They’re both great in their own ways, they both have pretty good stand up, they’re pretty good wrestlers. [My] only advantage would be I have a weight advantage over them, and probably a reach advantage also. I was thinking about New Years Eve, in Vegas. I think I deserve to be the champion.”
UFC 226 is set to take place on Saturday, July 7, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.
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