Curtis Blaydes

It was very exciting to see Curtis Blaydes get the job done the way he did against Chris Daukaus. He said it himself after the win: No one expected Blaydes ...

It was the most high-profile win to date for both athletes, and both have been relatively flawless in the octagon when fighting in this weight class. However, there’s definitely room for considerable hope for Alexa Grasso and Manon Fiorot to be a danger to Valentina Shevchenko’s title reign in the women’s flyweight division. Credit to Magny for that, because when he was early in his UFC tenure, no one – and admittedly not even himself – thought he would put a resume like this together. Kara-France came through as a huge betting underdog and handed the previously unbeaten Russian his first loss, and now he’s probably on deck for a flyweight title shot. However, he’s almost certainly going to be paired with one of the other odd men out. Blaydes probably isn’t a serious candidate at the moment unless a number of other options fall through. Ciryl Gane is up there, too, though the promotion may not want to throw him back into a title match after he just lost to Ngannou. Blaydes’ highlight-reel win added his name to the mix of the increasingly compelling heavyweight division. We’re not here to now deem Blaydes as a striker and advise him to only do so in his fights. Stipe Miocic would be the top option, and Tai Tuivasa would probably be the alternate if one side can’t get done. Blaydes was doing just fine standing up in that fight, but it seemed like he felt he had to go to the ground, when it really wasn’t necessary at that point. He finally gave in, though, and the result was spectacular.