Athletes
Curtis Blaydes: ‘I Wouldn’t Want Me As A Debut’
Heavyweight Veteran Curtis Blaydes Welcomes UFC Newcomer Rizvan Kuniev To The Octagon At UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev On March 8
UFC veteran Curtis Blaydes finds himself in an interesting spot at UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev.
In July, the No. 5 ranked heavyweight fought Tom Aspinall for the interim title at UFC 304. Fast forward to this Saturday, and Blaydes is facing Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Rizvan Kuniev, who will make his UFC debut as soon as he steps into the Octagon.
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Going from fighting for a belt to welcoming a UFC newcomer might seem like a dramatic shift, but Blaydes didn’t hesitate to accept the opportunity.
“I don’t want to be disrespectful, but I’ll take it,” Blaydes said. “It’s easy money.”
The 34-year-old has fought the who’s who of the UFC heavyweight division over two generations, including legends like Alistair Overeem and Junior Dos Santos, along with some of the division’s current best in Aspinall, Alexander Volkov and Derrick Lewis.
While Blaydes doesn’t see himself as a legend just yet, he’s been in or around the Top 5 for the last seven years, proving himself as one of the division’s most consistent threats. He believes it’s a tall order for anyone, let alone a debutant, to challenge him.
“I’m kind of embracing that I’m older now, I’m a vet,” Blaydes said. “I don’t see it as a sign of disrespect because I got to fight a lot of legends. I don’t want to say I’m a legend, but I know this is weighing heavier on his head than it is on me. If I were him, I wouldn’t want me as a debut, but it is what it is.”
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Blaydes is one of the most respectful athletes on the UFC roster, so to hear him drop “easy money” is a bit out of character. But there’s something about this matchup that seems to have lit a fire under him. The two were originally set to fight at UFC Seattle two weeks ago, but an injury on Kuniev’s side led to a short postponement until UFC 313.
“I heard he got injured, but I’m like, I don’t know what injury heals in like less than a month,” Blaydes said. “If it’s an injury enough to take you out of a fight, I’m not expecting him to be 100 percent healthy. That’s all I know. ‘Injury.’”
Blaydes threw air quotes around "injury," hinting at some skepticism about Kuniev’s behavior.
The 32-year-old Kuniev competed twice on Dana White’s Tuesday night series, most recently punching his ticket to the UFC with a first-round stoppage in August. While DWCS is a great place to prove you're ready for the UFC, stepping into the Octagon with a veteran like Blaydes is a completely different beast.
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“There’s guys that think they’ve been there, done that, but you ain’t been in there with a guy like me before,” Blaydes said. “If I were him, that’s something I’d be thinking about a lot. This is going to be the hardest fight you’ve ever had. This is your intro to the big leagues.”
With that being said, Blaydes isn’t taking this fight lightly. As he learned the hard way when he suffered a knockout loss to Derrick Lewis in 2021, any heavyweight has the potential to land the one shot that puts you out.
“I think it’s easy because it’s heavyweight and you don’t have to be skilled to get a win,” Blaydes said. “I’ve learned that. We all hit hard, so I approach everyone as if they’re Jon Jones because I know anyone can beat me at this weight class.
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“He’s probably going to sprint at me. He’s going to have all that energy, jitters. Most heavyweights don’t want to be in there for longer than a round. I think I’m a little different. I believe in my conditioning. That’s why I moved out to Denver, to maximize my conditioning. I’m expecting him to want to get out of there early, make a mistake, and I’ll be there to capitalize.”
UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 8, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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