Curtis
Blaydes believes his well-rounded skillset will overwhelm
Jailton
Almeida in their UFC
299 clash at Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday.
Blaydes (17-4) was originally scheduled to headline
UFC Sao Paolo opposite Almeida this past November before an
injury forced him out of the contest. “Razor” was replaced by
Derrick
Lewis, who was smothered by Almeida (20-2) for five rounds en
route to dropping a lopsided decision. However, Almeida’s
performance didn’t impress Blaydes, who compared the Brazilian to
former
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Demian
Maia.
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“He did what I thought he would do, take him down,” Blaydes said
during the UFC 299 media day. “I didn’t think he’d want to hang out
on the feet at all. He hasn’t really shown anything with footwork
and hands. He’s a traditional jiu-jitsu guy. He’s like a
heavyweight version of Demian Maia. Don’t have hands, just wants to
grapple.”
When asked which fighter he compares himself to, Blaydes named
Merab
Dvalishvili “minus the gas tank.” Blaydes is confident that he
will get the better of Almeida with his diverse skillset,
especially in the stand-up.
“That’s the beauty of being multifaceted. I don’t have one path to
victory. I can win on the feet. I can grapple. I’ve always shown I
have the power to knock guys out. I’m very confident I will be able
to out-show him on the feet.”
Almeida and Blaydes’ original booking was a five-rounder, it being
a main event as opposed to their UFC 299 prelims booking, which is
a three-round affair. While Almeida would have preferred a
25-minute fight, Blaydes is happy with the prelims spot.
“I prefer to be on the prelims,” said Blaydes. “I don’t want to be
in there all day thinking about the fight. I know you guys like it
because you get to end the night with a good heavyweight knockout.
I don’t want to be up from 12 on Saturday all the way till
midnight. After I win my fight, I’m going back to the hotel, I’m
going to sleep. I’m very happy I’m on the prelims.”
Interim heavyweight Tom
Aspinall has expressed interest in fighting the winner of
Blaydes vs. Almeida. While “Malhadinho” is expecting an interim
title shot with a win, Blaydes claims there are other factors at
play.
“I have no idea. It seems like storylines are based on Instagram
followers. So if you have enough Instagram followers anything is a
great storyline.”