Curtis Blaydes came up with a game plan to show Alex Pereira what his opponent is made of.
Pereira (11-2) has won the UFC middleweight and light heavyweight titles and defended the light heavyweight title three times in less than three years since his debut with the organization. The Brazilian’s unprecedented rise to stardom has led to rumors of him potentially moving up to heavyweight for a shot at triple world champion glory. Watching Pereira compete against heavyweight boxers such as Australia’s Demsey McKean and China’s Zhang Zhilei has led many to believe “Poitan” could compete at heavyweight.
However, Blaydes (18-4) strongly cautioned Pereira against moving up to heavyweight. “The Razor” explained his strategy against Pereira is to go for the takedown quickly, which he believes Pereira has at his disposal. Blaydes believes Pereira is well aware of this and wants a specific fight at heavyweight, not a random matchup. According to Blaydes, Pereira could beat a heavyweight powerhouse like Tai Tuivasa, but he won’t be able to beat anyone in the top five.
“That’s a bad idea. I’ll tell you what I planned ahead of time: I’m going to shoot right away. Why give him a chance to get knocked out on the stand when I know I can beat him?,” Blaydes said during media day for UFC 304. “I think he knows that. I think he’s going for it.
[at] Not any heavyweight, any heavyweight. I can imagine him beating a guy like Ty. [Tuivasa]”The most common counter to a takedown is a knee to the midsection, as Jorge Masvidal demonstrated in his record-breaking five-second knockout of Ben Askren. But Blaydes is confident he can eat Pereira’s knee, too, because he took one in his TKO win over Alistair Overeem at UFC 225 in 2018.
“I’m going to take that knee. I took Alistair’s knee. [Overeem]You think [Pereira] “Can I land a stronger knee than Alistair? I know he has the aura going, but I took a knee from Alistair at 265 pounds. I’m good at taking knees.”
Blaydes is scheduled to challenge Tom Aspinall (14-3) for the interim heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 304 this weekend in Manchester. There have already been talks about a future matchup between Pereira and Aspinall, with Aspinall expressing interest. Blaydes is also open to fighting “Poitan” if he beats Aspinall, and has vowed to “crush” the light heavyweight champion.
“That’s what everyone wants to hear: Yes, I’m going to destroy Alex Pereira. Not because he’s a bad fighter, but because I’m heavier than him. In the heavyweight division, it’s about gravity, it’s about weight. It’s not about skill, it’s about that.”
