Heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes didn't exactly "ragdoll" Alexander Volkov as promised ahead of their UFC Fight Night main event match; instead, he relied on takedowns and ground control to secure the five-round unanimous decision win. It wasn't flashy or terribly exciting, but it was effective and, in his eyes, that's all he needed it to be.
UFC president Dana White expressed disappointment after the fight that Blaydes didn't back up his trash talk with an exhilarating finish.
“Yeah, he won. He talked a lot of (expletive) coming in this week. I don’t think you talk the (expletive) he talked this week and come in and perform like that. Talking about rag-dolling people, and he’s not getting paid, and yada yada, he should be getting the title shot. He gassed out at the end of the third round, made it to the fifth and won the fight. Yeah, he won.”
Blaydes, on the other hand, felt good about his performance. “I won. There is no part of me that isn’t happy right now,” he said. “You can ask it from six different angles. There is no part of me that isn’t happy. My hand was raised. I’m happy.”
It was the fourth consecutive win for the No. 3-ranked Blaydes, who is now 14-2 with 1 NC. The problem now is the logjam at the top of the heavyweight division. There are currently three fighters ahead of him in the division: Francis Ngannou, former champion Daniel Cormier, and curent champion Stipe Miocic.
Cormier and Miocic will meet for their trilogy fight at UFC 252 on Saturday, August 15. Ngannou, who has already beaten Blaydes twice, will almost certainly be the next in line to fight for the belt, taking on the winner of the UFC 252 title match. After that, it's probably Curtis Blaydes; but, that's a long time to wait.
“His two losses are to Francis. How do you give him the title shot ahead of Francis? But, yeah, he would be considered next in line. But with his performance tonight and his cardio? I wouldn’t wait around if I was him. I’d stay active," Dana White advised. "I’d stay busy.”
Outside of getting a paycheck — which he already believes he's underpaid — Blaydes sees no reason to fight unless it's for the belt. “Stay busy against who?” he said. “I fought Justin Willis, ranked below me. I fought (Shamil) Abdurakhimov, ranked below me. I fought Junior (Dos Santos), ranked below me. I fought Volkov, ranked below me. Like what? No.”