‘Smart decision’ Curtis Blaydes says Jon Jones is avoiding him
With business to attend to this weekend in the form of an interim heavyweight title fight, Curtis Blaydes has still claimed it’s likely a “smart decision” for champion, Jon Jones to avoid a bout with him ahead of his UFC 304 return.
Blaydes, a perennial heavyweight contender, features in a title fight – albeit interim, for the first time in his lengthy promotional tenure this weekend, co-headlining UFC 304.
Taking on former-foe, Tom Aspinall in a trip to enemy territory in Manchester, Blaydes looks to snatch the interim crown in another upset win – after a debilitating knee injury forced a TKO win in favor of the latter back in July 2022 in their London main event fight.
And last time out, Blaydes turned back the surge of Brazilian contender, Jailton Almeida with a stunning series of elbows at the Octagon fence whilst fending off a takedown, handing the Dana White’s Contender Series product his first UFC defeat.
Curtis Blaydes quips Jon Jones is clever to avoid fight with him
Hoping to position himself to a future fight with fellow veteran, Jones with a huge upset win over Atherton favorite, Aspinall this weekend, Curtis Blaydes has claimed that while the Rochester native has a UFC 309 return of his own lined up for Madison Square Garden in November against Stipe Miocic, it’s likely clever for him to avoid a showdown.
“I wasn’t surprised (that Gane vs. Jones was booked for UFC 285),” Curtis Blaydes told ESPN MMA. “I’ve been with the UFC for eight years now. Like, I get it,” Blaydes said. “Marketing. He’s French, which means he brings in all the fans over there. He has an aesthetically pleasing style. A lot of people don’t like wrestling, so I get that. He does all the fancy karate stance and all that. It’s easy to market his highlights versus the highlights that I have.
“Also, I think they asked Jon and were probably like, ‘Jon, do you wanna go against this guy who doesn’t know how to wrestle? Or this guy, who knows how to wrestle?’ I think he did the business, smart decision,” Blaydes continued. “I am a harder fight for him than Gane; I think a lot of guys are a harder fight for him than Gane.”
Over the course of his Octagon tenure, Illinois native has turned in eye-catching wins over the likes of Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, as well as the above-mentioned Aspinall and Almeida.
Who would you pick to win in a future matchup: Curtis Blaydes or Jon Jones?
