Curtis Blaydes wants to become UFC heavyweight champion and he doesn’t care who he has to go through to get it.
Fresh off a stunning second-round knockout over Chris Daukaus in the UFC Columbus main event, the 31-year-old contender called his shot with hopes that an interim title fight would come next against either Ciryl Gane or ex-champion Stipe Miocic. Truth be told, Blaydes isn’t overly concerned with who he faces but rather the reward that would hopefully be attached to either one of those fights.
“I view them as the same opportunity,” Blaydes said at the post-fight press conference. “A win over Gane, who was on a hot streak, who was just in a title fight, a win over him should put me as the next title contender. Same thing with Stipe.
“He’s the GOAT, in my opinion. He’s the GOAT of this heavyweight division. He honestly deserved a [championship] rematch a while ago but if he’s willing to risk it against me and I beat him, that’s the same thing to me. It’s a title shot for me would be the next thing for me after beating Gane or Stipe.”
