Heavyweight fighter Curtis Blaydes picked up an auspicious TKO victory over Aleksei Oleinik this past Saturday Night at UFC 217.
Controversy ensued when Blaydes barely touched the ear of a downed Oleinik with a kick, which caused the referee to stop the fight. Oleinik was unable to continue, by his own admission, and the fight was then awarded to Blaydes by TKO.
Blaydes says that the accidental kick was thrown because he was doing his best to get a $50,000 bonus at the event.
“I was trying to get a bonus,” Blaydes said after the event. “That’s what I get for trying to get a bonus.”
As it would turn out, the fighter would get the aforementioned win, but no bonus.
While Blaydes didn’t want to get a victory through such controversial means, the fighter knows that he still got the “W” in the end.
“I was really hoping to get a clean knockout without having a doctor or any controversy,” Blaydes said. “But a win’s a win, so I’ll take it.”
The bout will go down as a historical one for another reason and that is that the New York State Athletic Commission used their newly enforced replay rule for the first time at an MMA event.
