5 possible opponents for Stipe Miocic

#4 Curtis Blaydes

With Ngannou now beaten, could Curtis Blaydes be the next big thing?

Fans and observers alike were massively excited by Francis Ngannou’s challenge for the UFC Heavyweight title, partly because outside of Miocic himself, he was the first Heavyweight to emerge from the next era of fighters, rather than the Overeem/Werdum/Velasquez/Dos Santos era that’s starting to age dramatically now. Another man from Ngannou’s newer era is the only other man besides Miocic to really stand up to the Cameroonian’s power – Curtis Blaydes.

Currently booked to face Mark Hunt at UFC 221 in what will easily be his biggest test to date, Blaydes is an up-and-comer who isn’t quite as flashy as Ngannou in terms of the knockouts he’s delivered, but he’s arguably more proven – he’s gone the distance in the UFC, we know all about his excellent wrestling background to go with his powerful strikes, and he’s overcome adversity, fighting against Ngannou’s power until the doctor forced him to stop.

Right now, Blaydes largely represents potential, but we’ve seen fighters like him make massive strides of improvement in the past, and if he goes into Australia and wrecks Hunt in his backyard, then there could well be calls for him to receive the next shot at Miocic, particularly if no other clear-cut contender is around. And as a bigger man than Miocic and arguably a better wrestler, it’d be an interesting fight if nothing else.