I feel like SO MANY people are still sleeping on this guy. I know he lost twice to Francis but I honestly think he will be the next to hold the belt. I think hes a terrible match up for pretty much anyone.
Agreed
He's one of the few guys with some actual skills at heavyweight. Also smart and young. He's going to be champ 100%
I think it’s almost inevitable.
He’s too talented, and fights too smart for it not to happen.
Because he’s willing to fight his fight, and not get sucked into stand n wang battles, he’s going to be a tough matchup for anybody.
Even though FN got him twice, I’d STILL bet on Blaydes in a third fight. That, combined with the fact that he’s still only Just turned 29 a couple days ago, and FN and SM are 33 and 37 means I’d bet hundreds of dollars that he ends up champ before it’s all said and done.
Who his age or younger would you favor over him?
Gane, maybe? I don’t see it.
He's improving, and already has the wrestling, clinch, and damaging, elbow-fueled ground and pound to be a problem. With the current paradigm of heavyweights trying to be sloppy boxers, his wrestling-heavy attack could create some favorable matchups for him. He's already a top 5 guy.
He's building experience. Solid team. 6'4, 250lbs, so good raw material to work with. Just needs to keep cleaning up his standup.
UFC probably not thrilled about the thought of him wrestle fucking everyone, but that may or may not be the case in the long run
He's got a whole lot of potential
Agree
Francis would fuck him up again if they fought. He has had trouble taking Francis down in all of their fights and isn't skilled enough on the feet to close the distance. That said, I think he is a great fighter and can beat just about any HW.
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Well he kicked my ass in UFC 3 when I was champion so yeah probably.
He's already good and only getting better. I hope to see him as champ one day.
cyberc92 -Francis would fuck him up again if they fought. He has had trouble taking Francis down in all of their fights and isn't skilled enough on the feet to close the distance. That said, I think he is a great fighter and can beat just about any HW.
This
Get a hold of yourselves he's been murdered twice by the same guy in the same fashion. His only win since is JDS who is on his way out.
Raging -Get a hold of yourselves he's been murdered twice by the same guy in the same fashion. His only win since is JDS who is on his way out.
Yeah, the "same guy twice"
Who cares? In his 10 fights in ufc hes only lost to one opponent
Has an 80% win rate and a 70% Finishing rate.
Impressive to me at least
No shame in getting kod by francis.
Id take curtis over stipe every day of the week.
Connorwinztharematch -No shame in getting kod by francis.
Id take curtis over stipe every day of the week.
I'm with you on that
Connorwinztharematch -No shame in getting kod by francis.
Id take curtis over stipe every day of the week.
FWIW, Curtis trained with Stipe years back, and apparently Stipe ate his lunch.
It was a wakeup call for Curtis about how much better he needed to get and how big the skill gap was between him and the top guys.
He’s obviously better now, but I wouldn’t sleep on Stipe, even at 37.
He’s getting older, but he’s still the best guy to ever step into the octagon, regardless of weight.
(that is, at his best, I’d favor him over any guy at any weight, ever)
Assuming, say, both Ngannou and Blaydes fight another ten years or so each, I'd like to see their trajectories over the course of those years. It's not going to be much longer before DC is gone, and who knows how much mileage Stipe has left on his chin. He has a tendency to take damage and it can take effect at any time.
Blaydes, with his grappling, has the tools to stick around for awhile, but needs to mitigate his own damage.
Someone has to take the torch in that division, and I feel like he's a good candidate to do it he keeps working on his game.
Honestly I think he beats Stipe pretty easily.
Slowshot -Connorwinztharematch -No shame in getting kod by francis.
Id take curtis over stipe every day of the week.
FWIW, Curtis trained with Stipe years back, and apparently Stipe ate his lunch.
It was a wakeup call for Curtis about how much better he needed to get and how big the skill gap was between him and the top guys.
He’s obviously better now, but I wouldn’t sleep on Stipe, even at 37.
He’s getting older, but he’s still the best guy to ever step into the octagon, regardless of weight.
(that is, at his best, I’d favor him over any guy at any weight, ever)
You know DC KO’d Stipe and was beating him in the rematch, correct?