The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 148: Thompson vs. Pettis

#2 Best: Curtis Blaydes shows his worth

Curtis Blaydes dominated Justin Willis for three rounds

In late 2018 it looked like Curtis Blaydes was closing in on a Heavyweight title shot after a stellar campaign that saw him defeat longtime veterans Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem. Faced with Francis Ngannou – who’d looked a shadow of his former self in a loss to Derrick Lewis – Blaydes appeared to be one fight away from greatness. And then he got knocked out violently in under a minute, as Ngannou suddenly found his confidence again.

Normally a loss for a prospect on the way up wouldn’t be so bad, but it was the way that Blaydes was finished that was worrying more than anything. Last night he took a dangerous bounce-back fight against Justin Willis – undefeated in the UFC at 4-0 and willing to talk a ridiculous amount of trash – and ‘Razor’ came through with one of the best performances of his career, showing that he’s clearly an elite-level fighter at Heavyweight.

Willis – who had to cut weight to make the 265lbs limit – was thrown around like a ragdoll for practically the full 15 minutes, and when he was on his feet, he was badly hurt by the punches of Blaydes and was almost finished early in the second round. It was a major lesson for ‘Big Pretty’ – a training partner of current Heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier – that there are levels in this sport and Blaydes is still one above him right now. And for the doubters, it was proof that ‘Razor’ is still probably the best prospect in this division.