5 reasons why Curtis Blaydes is the UFC's most underrated heavyweight

#4. Curtis Blaydes’ losses should not be a source of shame to him

Nobody should knock Curtis Blaydes for his losses to Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis

The major stick used by doubters to beat Curtis Blaydes with is the fact that he has three losses under his belt in the UFC and all of them came via knockout or TKO. However, should ‘Razor’ really be ashamed of those losses?

The answer is almost certainly no. Those three losses came at the hands of just two fighters – current UFC heavyweight kingpin Francis Ngannou and former title challenger Derrick Lewis.

More importantly, his first loss against Ngannou came via doctor’s stoppage after his eye was swollen shut, meaning that unlike highly-regarded fighters such as Cain Velasquez and Stipe Miocic, he was able to avoid being knocked out by ‘The Predator’.

Sure, his second bout against Ngannou did see him knocked out, as did his fight with Lewis in 2021. However, the two men are arguably the hardest-hitting pair of heavyweights in the world right now, with Lewis actually holding the UFC’s record number of knockouts with 13.

So, given that he’s beaten all of his other opponents, fans should not write Curtis Blaydes off simply because he was stopped by two heavy-handed foes. At the end of the day, he isn’t the only fighter to lose to ‘The Predator’ and ‘The Black Beast’, and he won’t be the last.

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#3. Curtis Blaydes has an excellent record with a number of great wins

Curtis Blaydes holds a number of great wins, including a 2018 stoppage of Alistair Overeem

When you actually look at his record, it seems baffling that Curtis Blaydes isn’t far more highly rated by the fans than he seems to be. Even without looking deep into it, an overall record of 15-3 with one no contest is tremendous, particularly with 14 of those fights coming in the UFC.

However, look below the surface and it’s simply impossible to deny that Blaydes has a truly excellent record with a number of great wins over highly-regarded opposition.

‘Razor’ showed flashes of excellence in his octagon debut, even in a losing effort against Francis Ngannou. After running over lower-level foes like Cody East and Daniel Omielanczuk, it didn’t take long for the UFC to push him up the ladder.

Blaydes did not fail to disappoint in his step up, defeating much more experienced veterans like Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt to entrench himself firmly in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division.

Essentially, ‘Razor’ has victories over a former UFC champion (Junior dos Santos), two former title challengers (Hunt and Overeem) and three more perennial contenders (Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Volkov and Alexei Oleinik).

That’s a great record, however you look at it, meaning that the fact that he doesn’t seem to be considered a top-level contender right now makes him highly underrated.