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Riding on two back to back wins against Justin Willis and Shamil Abdurakhimov, Curtis Blaydes is currently looking forward to his main event fight against Junior dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 166 on January 25.
A win in this bout will possibly take him a step closer to the Heavyweight title shot. However, according to his interview with MMA Fighting, the titleholder Stipe Miocic pushing for a fight against boxing champion Tyson Fury is surely going to create some chaos in the division and delay his chances of fighting for the Championship.
Curtis Blaydes: How long do I have to wait for a title shot?
In a rematch of their 2018 bout, Stipe Miocic turned the results around and also took the Heavyweight title back from Daniel Cormier. Ever since, there has been word of an eventual trilogy between the two, but the Champion has been more interested in squaring off against Tyson Fury.
The British boxer has reciprocated his interest in making the fight happen as well. Even two years ago, a crossover such as this would have been waved off as an impossibility. But ever since Conor McGregor earned a lifetime of a fortune going against boxer Floyd Mayweather in the second-highest grossing pay-per-view in the history, nothing can be written off.
Blaydes completely understands why Miocic would go for the fight because it is a massive money grab. However, he can't help but point out how it would stagnate the Heavyweight division, for himself as well as all the other fighters waiting for a title shot.
"I respect him and I get why he wants the money but at the same time it does affect my timeline of what I want to get done. I do feel some type of way about it but I’m not going to bash Stipe. I get it."
For his own selfish reasons, Blaydes surely hopes that Miocic brings his focus back to the MMA world, so that he can go ahead and fight for his chance at the Championship.
"I get that but then again I’m in the midst of my career and how long do I have to wait for a title shot? How many more money grab fights do I have to wait through before I get a shot?"
As for his own fight with Miocic, he would definitely love to see that happen. But for now, he is concentrating on the contest against Junior dos Santos.
The fight will take place on January 25, 2020 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.
