Curtis Blaydes: ‘I would f*ck up Alex Pereira’
Curtis Blaydes thinks it’s a bad idea for Alex Pereira to move up to heavyweight.
Following his sensational second-round knockout of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, ‘Poatan’ has teased a potential move up to heavyweight in an attempt to do what no fighter has done in promotional history — win a championship in three different divisions.
While undisputed and interim heavyweight titleholders Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall have been more than welcoming of the possibility, Blaydes had a decidedly different response when asked about Pereira’s potential move into his division.
“Bad idea,” Blaydes told reporters during the UFC 304 media day. “Him, I’ll give you my premeditated plan: I’m going to shoot. Immediately. Why would I give him any chance to knock me out on the feet when I know I can take him down at will? I’m sure he has to know that. I think he’s looking for a specific heavyweight, not any heavyweight.
“He has matchups against — I can see him beating guys like Tai. We watched him sparring Tai Tuivasa. Maybe some other guys in the bottom of the top 15. But you give him a top-five guy with some real weight, he’s not winning” (h/t MMA Fighting).
Curtis Blaydes can eat anything Alex Pereira throws at him — including knees
Having already gone toe-to-toe with some of the heaviest hitters in heavyweight history, ‘Razor’ is more than confident he can handle anything Pereira throws at him, and he’s more than willing to prove it.
“I’m going to eat that knee,” Blaydes said when asked about Pereira’s flying knees. “I ate one from Alistair [Overeem]. You think he throws harder knees than Alistair? I know he’s got the aura going on right now, but I ate a knee from 265 pound Alistair. I’m good with eating knees.
“Yes [I would welcome a fight]. Yes. I know that’s what everyone wants. I would f*ck up Alex Pereira. It’s not because he’s not good. I’m heavier than he is. A heavyweight, gravity, weight matters. It’s not a skill basis. It’s just how it is.”
For now, Blaydes will focus on the task at hand — that being a co-main event title clash with reigning interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall this Saturday night at UFC 304 in Manchester.
Aspinall will become the first fighter in more than a decade to defend an interim belt while undisputed king Jon Jones continues to prep himself for a meeting with the division’s consensus GOAT, Stipe Miocic.
