Curtis Blaydes is back in action at UFC Fight Night Beijing, facing Francis Ngannou in a rematch in the main event of the show.
One huge change occurred in Blaydes’ life since the last time he fought, which is that the heavyweight contender became a father.
“I’ve been working on my time, how I spend my time wisely. I go and hang out with my daughter…almost everyday for a few hours at least, sometimes I’ll stay overnight and watch her. It just gives me more focus, more of a why. At first, I was just doing it because I like getting money and this is a good way for me to get money, now its like I need money because I need to provide for her to make sure she has all the opportunities I had…maybe even more,” says Blaydes in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s James Lynch.
Blaydes and Ngannou met the first time at UFC Fight Night 86 in April of 2016, with Ngannou getting a second round TKO due to a doctor stoppage.
The heavyweight contender plans on getting the win over Ngannou, but just doing what he has done in previous fights.
“I see it going just like the Alistair (Overeem) fight, first round…feeling him out. Get my takedown secure…top position, get some ground strikes in. Second round, just do it again…just keep wearing (him out). This is a five round fight, I can do it for five rounds. Rest and repeat, over and over. Kind of like Adam Milstead…kind of like Mark Hunt….kind of like, all of my fights. Once I get one takedown, that leads to two…leads to four…leads to eight. Sometimes you know, it just…its like a snowball effect. I’m expecting that, the snowball effect. I’ll break him and then I’m looking to get the finish,” says Blaydes.
UFC Fight Night Beijing takes place on Saturday, November 24 from the Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China with Curtis Blaydes and Francis Ngannou headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on UFC Fight Pass.
