Curtis Blaydes
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Curtis Blaydes rocks Chris Daukaus with an incredible knockout at UFC Columbus.
UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes has been known to be an elite wrestler, but it was his vastly-improved boxing that proved to be the difference against Chris Daukaus at UFC Columbus.
Blaydes and Daukaus had a back-and-forth Round 1, with both fighters finding their timing on the feet. Blaydes, to the surprise of many, didn’t attempt a single takedown in the opening minutes.
After out-pacing Daukaus in Round 1 with his striking, Blaydes kept the pressure on in Round 2. He landed a big right hand that landed flush on Daukaus’ chin, sending Daukaus collapsing to the mat before landing some vicious ground-and-pound for the finish.
This was Blaydes’ first TKO finish since his win over former UFC champion Junior dos Santos in 2020.
Curtis Blaydes called for an interim title shot following his win
Blaydes came into UFC Columbus having won five of his last six, with his lone defeat coming by knockout to Derrick Lewis in Feb. 2021. He rebounded in a big way in his last fight with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 266.
Blaydes has been a mainstay in the UFC heavyweight title picture since he earned wins over top contenders such as Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt, and Dos Santos earlier in his career.
Daukaus was fighting in his second-straight UFC main event after falling to Lewis last December. Before that, he had won his first four matchups in the UFC over the likes of Aleksei Oleinik and Shamil Abdurakhimov.
The victory over Daukaus puts Blaydes in the thick of things in the heavyweight title discussion. Francis Ngannou will miss nine months after undergoing knee surgery, which could open the door for an interim title bout later this year.