This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Columbus, we saw a showdown in the heavyweight division. Top contenders battled it out as Curtis “Razor” Blaydes (16-3, 1 NC) took on Chris Daukaus (12-4).
It was a huge fight for both men as they were looking to stabilize themselves near the very top of the heavyweight division. For Blaydes, he was looking to pick up his second straight UFC win after getting knocked out by Derrick Lewis back in February of 2021.
The last time we saw Blaydes, he used a wrestling heavy attack to defeat Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Given Daukaus’ striking, I expected a similar game plan. However, Blaydes had something else up his sleeve on Saturday night.
While Daukaus was likely looking for the takedown attempt, Blaydes didn’t shoot once. Instead, he focused on using his long and straight punches to stifle the attack of Daukaus. Then, he dropped the hammer in the second round.
When both men came together to throw big shots, Blaydes landed first with a brutal right hand. Daukaus crumbled to the mat and Blaydes followed up with brutal elbows that caused a stop to the action giving him the TKO win at UFC Columbus.
What’s next after UFC Columbus?
This was a huge win for Blaydes and it goes a long ways with UFC fans. For years, Blaydes has been really good, but he hasn’t gained a ton of support due to his wrestling-first style. This is the kind of fight that Blaydes needed to get over with fans.
After the fight was over, there were a couple of names on the mind of Blaydes. At first, he called for an interim UFC title fight with Ciryl Gane. This is a fight that could happen, but Blaydes isn’t getting an interim title shot. Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic are ahead of him for that spot.
Speaking of Miocic, Blaydes also called out the former UFC champion. He said that he respected him, but he would love to fight him. Unfortunately for Blaydes, he might be on the outside looking in for both fights.
I think the promotion might give Gane to Tai Tuivasa and I think Stipe Miocic is likely fighting Jon Jones next. With that, Blaydes could fight Tom Aspinall next. Miocic isn’t happening, but I could see the UFC going with one of these three: Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, Tai Tuivasa.
Things are getting good in the heavyweight division.