Curtis Blaydes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Curtis Blaydes |
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Blaydes at UFC 221
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| Born | Curtis Lionell Blaydes February 18, 1991 Naperville, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Other names | Razor | |||||||||||||
| Residence | Lakewood, Colorado, U.S. | |||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | |||||||||||||
| Weight | 263 lb (119 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Division | Heavyweight | |||||||||||||
| Reach | 80 in (203 cm) | |||||||||||||
| Fighting out of | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |||||||||||||
| Team | Dutch Style MMA (until 2016) UFC Gym Lombard (formerly) Elevation Fight Team (2016–present) |
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| Rank | Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Cody Donovan | |||||||||||||
| Wrestling | NJCAA Wrestling | |||||||||||||
| Years active | 2014–present | |||||||||||||
| Mixed martial arts record | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 25 | |||||||||||||
| Wins | 19 | |||||||||||||
| By knockout | 13 | |||||||||||||
| By decision | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Losses | 5 | |||||||||||||
| By knockout | 5 | |||||||||||||
| No contests | 1 | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Curtis Lionell Blaydes (born February 18, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is known for his strong wrestling skills. Curtis competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has been a professional fighter since 2014. As of June 24, 2025, he is ranked #4 in the UFC heavyweight division.
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Early Life and Wrestling
Curtis Blaydes was born in Naperville, Illinois. He grew up in Chicago with his four brothers and sisters. He started wrestling in high school at De La Salle Institute. In his senior year, he won a state championship. He had an amazing undefeated record of 44 wins and 0 losses that year. Overall, he won 95 wrestling matches and had 121 takedowns in high school.
College Wrestling Success
Blaydes also played American football as a defensive end. He later received a full wrestling scholarship to Northern Illinois University. After one year, he moved to Harper College. At Harper, Blaydes became a NJCAA National Champion. He later left college to focus on his dream of becoming a professional mixed martial artist.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Curtis Blaydes started his fighting journey as an amateur. He won all 8 of his amateur fights. He then became a professional fighter in 2014. He won his first 5 professional fights, all by TKO (Technical Knockout). This impressive start led him to sign with the UFC.
Joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Blaydes made his UFC debut on April 10, 2016. He faced Francis Ngannou and lost the fight. However, he quickly bounced back.
First UFC Wins
On October 1, 2016, Blaydes fought Cody East. He won by TKO in the second round. This win earned him his first "Performance of the Night" bonus. This award is given to fighters who have an outstanding performance.
In February 2017, he fought Adam Milstead. Blaydes won when Milstead got a knee injury. Later, the fight result was changed to a "No Contest." This means the fight was treated as if it never happened.
Climbing the Ranks
Blaydes continued to win fights. He defeated Daniel Omielańczuk by decision in July 2017. In November 2017, he beat Alexey Oleynik by TKO. The referee stopped the fight after an illegal kick, but replays showed the kick did not cause much harm. Blaydes was still given the win.
He then won against Mark Hunt in February 2018. In June 2018, he faced Alistair Overeem. Blaydes won by TKO with elbows in the third round. This earned him another "Performance of the Night" bonus.
Key Fights and Achievements
Blaydes had a rematch with Francis Ngannou in November 2018. He lost this fight in the first round. However, he quickly returned to winning.
He defeated Justin Willis in March 2019. Blaydes used his strong wrestling skills to take Willis down many times. He won by unanimous decision. He also beat Shamil Abdurakhimov and Junior dos Santos by TKO in 2019 and 2020.
In June 2020, Blaydes fought Alexander Volkov. He won by unanimous decision. This fight showed his excellent wrestling, as he set a record for most takedowns in a UFC Heavyweight fight (14).
Recent Fights
Blaydes was scheduled to fight Derrick Lewis in November 2020, but the fight was postponed. When they finally fought in February 2021, Blaydes lost by knockout.
He then signed a new contract with the UFC. In September 2021, he defeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik by unanimous decision. He also won against Chris Daukaus by TKO in March 2022, earning another "Performance of the Night" award.
In July 2022, Blaydes fought Tom Aspinall. He won by TKO after Aspinall suffered a knee injury early in the fight. In April 2023, Blaydes lost to Sergei Pavlovich by TKO.
Blaydes was scheduled to fight Jailton Almeida in November 2023, but the fight was moved to March 2024. Blaydes won this fight by TKO in the second round, earning another "Performance of the Night" award.
In July 2024, Blaydes had a rematch with Tom Aspinall for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. He lost this fight by knockout. His most recent fight was on June 21, 2025, where he won against Rizvan Kuniev by split decision.
Personal Life
Curtis Blaydes has a daughter named Harlie.
Championships and Accomplishments
Mixed Martial Arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- "Performance of the Night" award (four times)
- Most takedowns landed in UFC Heavyweight division history (64)
- Most control time in UFC Heavyweight division history (1 hour, 20 minutes, 6 seconds)
- Most top position time in UFC Heavyweight division history (1 hour, 6 minutes)
- Most takedowns in a single fight in UFC Heavyweight division history (14, against Alexander Volkov)
- Tied for fifth most wins in UFC Heavyweight division history (14 wins)
Folkstyle Wrestling
- National Junior College Athletic Association
- NJCAA Heavyweight National Champion (2012)
- NJCAA All-American (2012)
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 25 matches | 19 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 13 | 5 |
| By decision | 6 | 0 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 19–5 (1) | Rizvan Kuniev | Decision (split) | UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. | June 21, 2025 | 3 | 5:00 | Baku, Azerbaijan | |
| Loss | 18–5 (1) | Tom Aspinall | KO (punches) | UFC 304 | July 27, 2024 | 1 | 1:00 | Manchester, England | For the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 18–4 (1) | Jailton Almeida | KO (punches) | UFC 299 | March 9, 2024 | 2 | 0:36 | Miami, Florida, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 17–4 (1) | Sergei Pavlovich | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes | April 22, 2023 | 1 | 3:08 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 17–3 (1) | Tom Aspinall | TKO (knee injury) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall | July 23, 2022 | 1 | 0:15 | London, England | |
| Win | 16–3 (1) | Chris Daukaus | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus | March 26, 2022 | 2 | 0:17 | Columbus, Ohio, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 15–3 (1) | Jairzinho Rozenstruik | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 266 | September 25, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 14–3 (1) | Derrick Lewis | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis | February 20, 2021 | 2 | 1:26 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 14–2 (1) | Alexander Volkov | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Volkov | June 20, 2020 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 13–2 (1) | Junior dos Santos | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. dos Santos | January 25, 2020 | 2 | 1:06 | Raleigh, North Carolina, United States | |
| Win | 12–2 (1) | Shamil Abdurakhimov | TKO (elbow and punch) | UFC 242 | September 7, 2019 | 2 | 2:22 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 11–2 (1) | Justin Willis | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis | March 23, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | |
| Loss | 10–2 (1) | Francis Ngannou | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2 | November 24, 2018 | 1 | 0:45 | Beijing, China | |
| Win | 10–1 (1) | Alistair Overeem | TKO (elbows) | UFC 225 | June 9, 2018 | 3 | 2:56 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 9–1 (1) | Mark Hunt | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 221 | February 11, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Perth, Australia | |
| Win | 8–1 (1) | Aleksei Oleinik | TKO (doctor stoppage) | UFC 217 | November 4, 2017 | 2 | 1:56 | New York City, New York, United States | |
| Win | 7–1 (1) | Daniel Omielańczuk | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 213 | July 8, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| NC | 6–1 (1) | Adam Milstead | NC (overturned) | UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. The Korean Zombie | February 4, 2017 | 2 | 0:59 | Houston, Texas, United States | Originally a TKO (knee injury) win for Blaydes; overturned after a test. |
| Win | 6–1 | Cody East | TKO (elbows) | UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson | October 1, 2016 | 2 | 2:02 | Portland, Oregon, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 5–1 | Francis Ngannou | TKO (doctor stoppage) | UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos | April 10, 2016 | 2 | 5:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 5–0 | Luis Cortez | TKO (punches) | RFA 35 | February 19, 2016 | 3 | 0:41 | Orem, Utah, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Allen Crowder | TKO (punches) | Battle in the South 10 | April 10, 2015 | 2 | N/A | Wilmington, North Carolina, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Brad Faylor | TKO (punches) | Sugar Creek Showdown 23 | November 15, 2014 | 2 | 0:45 | Hinton, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | William Baptiste | TKO (punches) | XFO 53 | October 11, 2014 | 1 | 2:14 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Lorenzo Hood | TKO (doctor stoppage) | XFO 51 | May 31, 2014 | 1 | 1:42 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | Heavyweight debut. |
See also
In Spanish: Curtis Blaydes para niños
- List of male mixed martial artists
- List of current UFC fighters
