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What’s the story?
Prior to his win over Mark Hunt this past weekend at UFC 221, UFC Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes spoke with MMA Junkie regarding his current status with the UFC and the contemporary positioning of his UFC contract.
In case you didn’t know…
Curtis Blaydes didn’t have the best of starts to his UFC career when he initially lost his first Octagon fight to Francis Ngannou back in 2016 at UFC Fight Night 86. However, the 26-year-old has been on a dominating run ever since, picking up wins against the likes of Cody East, Adam Milstead, Daniel Omielańczuk, Oleksiy Oliynyk, and his latest win coming over Mark Hunt this past weekend in Perth, Australia.
The heart of the matter
While recently speaking with MMA Junkie, Curtis Blaydes hinted towards a possible jump to Bellator MMA from the UFC, as he claimed that if the UFC refuses to offer Blaydes a well-constructed paycheck then he will eventually start entertaining the contract offers made by Bellator MMA.
Additionally, Blaydes stated that he does not care about the fact if no one ever gets to learn his name because the only thing that matters to him right now is the money that he has been earning via his fights.
“I don’t care if no one ever learns my name, as long as my bank account is full,” Blaydes stated.
Furthermore, Blaydes also noted that there are fighters who enjoy getting hit in the face due to the adrenaline rush, however, he claims himself to be the exact opposite and asserted the sole reason why he is fighting inside the cage is that of the money.
“I’m not one of those guys like, ‘If we were two guys in the backyard, I would still throw down.’ I would not. I’m in it for the money. I don’t feel bad about that at all," he further added.
What’s next?
Curtis is indeed one of the most underrated and talented heavyweights who is currently under the UFC contract and it is likely that President Dana White will be looking to sort out the pay issues with Blaydes as he hopes to retain the 26-year-old within the promotion.
Author’s Take
As we all know, the UFC’s Heavyweight division currently lacks a lot of depth and with Mark Hunt reportedly on his way out of the promotion, I think that the UFC should retain Blaydes at any cost.
