5 reasons why Curtis Blaydes could be the UFC's next interim heavyweight champion

#2. Curtis Blaydes is a bad match for the fighters ranked above him

Curtis Blaydes would be hopeful of outwrestling Ciryl Gane if they were to fight.

If Curtis Blaydes is to win the interim UFC heavyweight title – assuming the promotion does introduce it – he’ll probably have to go through one of the fighters ranked above him to do it. So is that possible for ‘Razor’? Absolutely.

It’s unlikely #2 ranked Stipe Miocic would be involved in any kind of interim title bout, given his lengthy absence from the octagon. That means Blaydes would probably be matched with either Ciryl Gane or Tai Tuivasa for the gold.

Luckily for ‘Razor’, he matches up remarkably well with both men. Both ‘Bon Gamin’ and ‘Bam Bam’ are absolutely deadly strikers who possess brutal knockout power. They’re not alike in many ways – Gane is a technical kickboxer, while Tuivasa prefers to brawl – but it’s fair to say that both prefer to keep their fights vertical.

However, both men have shown a massive weakness in the form of their defensive wrestling. Tuivasa’s losses to Junior Dos Santos, Blagoy Ivanov and Sergey Spivak all saw him look like a fish out of water on the ground. Meanwhile, Gane was outworked by the takedowns of Francis Ngannou, a fighter not renowned for his wrestling.

If Gane and Tuivasa were unable to outfight those opponents on the ground, it’s hard to imagine either man being able to fend off the takedowns of Blaydes, who is the best wrestler in the division right now.

Therefore, it’d be hard not to favou ‘Razor’ in a fight with either ‘Bam Bam’ or ‘Bon Gamin’ – giving him a huge chance of becoming the next champion in his division.

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#1. Curtis Blaydes may be in the UFC’s good books right now

Curtis Blaydes appears to be back in the UFC's good books after his spat with them in 2020.

It’s likely Curtis Blaydes’ recent win over Chris Daukaus would’ve been enough to propel him into a title bout in the near future under regular circumstances – particularly an interim heavyweight title fight in the absence of Francis Ngannou. However, he might have found that difficult if he were still on the outs with Dana White.

For those unaware of the situation, Blaydes came under fire from White following his win over Alexander Volkov in 2020. That's because he didn’t produce his best performance despite suggesting he deserved to be paid more before the bout.

Blaydes then lost to Derrick Lewis via KO. The situation appeared to go quiet till his recent wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Daukaus, suggesting that nothing had really been resolved between the two parties.

However, if former middleweight star Chael Sonnen is to be believed, the issue between Blaydes and the UFC has been settled. According to Sonnen, after fielding offers as a free agent following his loss to Lewis, Blaydes re-signed with the UFC for less money than he’d been offered elsewhere. That suggets he holds at least some kind of loyalty to the promotion.

If that is true, it’s highly likely Blaydes is in the UFC’s good books right now – particularly after he delivered a highlight reel knockout in his headline bout last weekend.

Therefore, any upcoming interim title bout is very likely to include ‘Razor’, giving him a greater chance than anyone else of becoming the next champion.