Curtis Blades is always keeping an eye on the heavyweight division even as he prepares for his upcoming fights.
Needless to say, he was very interested to see how Jon Jones would fare in his debut as he fights for the title against Cyril Gain again at UFC 285. I don’t know already after the former heavyweight king secured one takedown and then knocked out Gane using a guillotine choke.
The entire fight lasted just over two minutes.
“It was a quick fight, the only thing I wanted to know was that [Jon Jones] Being able to bounce back the way he does in a round or two,” Blaydes told MMA Fighting. “There wasn’t anything really to learn from that first exchange. It was just a straight left by John, and Jones was able to recover the back, take him down, hook his back leg, get the rack, and get the guillotine. In fact, the only thing we learned was Cyril Jean, and I don’t think he’d ever be a good wrestler.
“I know some people want to believe he’s a professional fighter, and he’s going to learn that. There are guys who fight for 10 or 15 years and never learn how to defend a guillotine or even an arm triangle. There are just some guys who don’t want to wrestle them. That’s what I learned from that.” He would never adapt when it came to grappling. I didn’t expect him to beat Jon Jones but at least he put up a fight. He had no idea what to do.”
While Gane may have been lost on Earth, Blaydes knows he wouldn’t run into nearly the same kind of trouble if he ever got a chance to take on Jones.
Blaydes has recorded the most takedowns in UFC heavyweight history with 62 while also maintaining the highest level of control as well with an hour and six minutes spent overpowering his opponent since first arriving in the organization.
Since his wrestling was such a dominant weapon, Blaydes really believed that it would present problems for Jones that he had not had before, especially in the heavyweight division.
“For all these reasons [I’m the toughest matchup]“I have the size, I have the wrestling, I have the athleticism, I have the speed, I have the agility,” Blades said. “I have all the things you need to fit a talent like Jon Jones.
“I know he can reach, his arms are longer than my hand. I have to find a way to get to that kind of range and I might have to use elbows, I might have to turn but I think I can get him down. I think once I drop anyone the odds are in my interest.”
Jones has hinted that his time may be running out and retirement may be looming in the near future, but Blaydes really hopes he’ll stick around for some fights. Considering that Jones would only have to defend his heavyweight title four times to break a UFC record, that might be enough incentive to stick around a little longer.
More than anything, Blaydes would love the chance to clash with someone like Jones, considered by many to be the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
“I think it’s going to be a great game and I hope it happens,” Blades said. “I think it’s a lot more right now than I did a year and a half ago.
“He can hang around up to 38 easily, maybe even up to 39. He’s in that class of LeBron [James], Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, Outliers. He can fight as long as he has his mind in it.”
For now, Blaydes is focusing on his own fight against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Vegas 71 and all signs point to Jones facing former champ Stipe Miocic in late 2023.
As it stands, Jones would very much prefer to beat Miocic, who hasn’t fought since March 2021 when he lost the heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou, but Blades is warning anyone who thinks the outcome in that fight is already set.
“I think if John wins, I think it will be a tough fight,” Blades explained. “He’s not going to take him down and guillotine him. Step is a smart fighter. He knows how to mix wrestling with strikes. I know John does too. So he’s going to have to approach the fight with a different mindset.”
This last battle [Jones] I learned that Cyryl Gane had no idea how to wrestle it. I always have this in the back of my head. It gives you a sense of confidence. As if anything got hard, I’d just struggle. He’s not going to get that with Step. Yes, [Jon] He was still able to get off [Daniel Cormier] But this is a heavy weight. I give Stipe a 50/50 chance of winning.”
Add to this, Blaydes is quick to point out that it only takes one shot to finish off anyone at a heavyweight – even Jon Jones – and this factor cannot be ignored.
Jones may look invincible, but he could put up a perfect fight and still hook a glancing blow that would end his night and put the title back around Miocic’s waist.
“This could happen to John,” Blades said. “It’s a one-two punch. Other weight classes, I watch it all the time. They have multiple exchanges. Even with heavy hitters in a division like [Justin] Gaethje. He might have two, three or four exchanges where if he was heavy someone would sleep in those exchanges.
“You don’t have four exchanges like that. It’s just a much different strength at heavyweight.”