Curtis Blaydes Doesn’t Fault Stipe Miocic For Chasing Tyson Fury Fight
Curtis Blaydes could very well be next in line for a heavyweight title opportunity. However, given the state of the division, any such opportunity would have to wait.
Currently, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is healing up from an injury after his title win over Daniel Cormier this past summer. A trilogy bout between Miocic and “DC” is the next planned heavyweight title fight, however, Miocic has also been lobbying for a crossover fight with boxing lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Blaydes said he can’t fault Miocic for going after the money fight. The money would be phenomenal for such an event.
“Apparently Stipe’s saying he’s interested in fighting Tyson Fury at boxing. That might put the DC trilogy on hold,” Blaydes said. “I don’t put no energy into it. I know what’s going on but I don’t stay up in bed all night and think about all the possible alternate realities. You never know.
“It’s a little bit chaotic, you just have to learn to live with it. I really, really respect Stipe. I understand he wants the money. It’s a money grab. I get it. He would destroy Tyson [in MMA]. It would be a lot of money. Pay-per-views would be out the wazoo.”
While Blaydes respects Miocic, he suggests a potential fight between Fury and Miocic would further delay his timeline for a title shot.
“I respect him and I get why he wants the money but at the same time it does affect my timeline of what I want to get done. I do feel some type of way about it but I’m not going to bash Stipe. I get it,” Blaydes said.
“I get that but then again I’m in the midst of my career and how long do I have to wait for a title shot? How many more money grab fights do I have to wait through before I get a shot?”
Blaydes will face Junior dos Santos in the main event of UFC Raleigh in late January. Should he win that fight, and Miocic rematch Cormier next without a superfight against Fury, Blaydes likes his chances for a title shot.
“I’ll go with Stipe [to win] again,” Blaydes said. “Especially after both got a win under their belts, if they do fight again, the rounds are going to be a lot more explosive. They’ve both seen what the other one has and they won’t be as tentative. I still think Stipe’s the better striker and he definitely has the reach advantage.
“It all depends if DC goes in there with the mindset just to wrestle, he could probably win, but I think he has an ego. He wants to strike with Stipe and that will be his downfall. I would definitely love to see that happen [with me against Stipe] but right now I’m focused on JDS and we’ll go from there.”
What do you think about Blaydes waiting on a heavyweight title opportunity for so long? Does he deserve it?
