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 | 24 | |||||||||||||
| Wins | 18 | |||||||||||||
| By knockout | 13 | |||||||||||||
| By decision | 5 | |||||||||||||
| 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. Before joining the UFC, Blaydes fought for the Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA). As of July 2024, he is one of the top fighters in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
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About Curtis Blaydes
Blaydes was born in Naperville, Illinois. He grew up in nearby Chicago with his four brothers and sisters. He started wrestling at De La Salle Institute. In his senior year, he won a state championship. He had a perfect record of 44 wins and no losses that year. Overall, he won 95 wrestling matches during high school. Blaydes also played football as a defensive end.
He later received a scholarship to wrestle at Northern Illinois University. After one year there, he moved to Harper College. At Harper, Blaydes became a national champion in college wrestling. He then left school to focus on his dream of becoming a professional mixed martial artist. He was also an amateur champion in kickboxing.
Curtis Blaydes' Fighting Career
Starting Out in MMA
Curtis Blaydes had a great start in amateur mixed martial arts. He won all 8 of his amateur fights. In 2014, he became a professional fighter. He won his first 5 professional fights by TKO (Technical Knockout). This impressive start led him to sign with the UFC.
Fighting in the UFC
Blaydes had his first UFC fight on April 10, 2016. He faced Francis Ngannou and lost the fight. The referee stopped the fight in the second round because of a doctor's advice.
His next fight was on October 1, 2016, against Cody East. Blaydes won this fight by TKO in the second round. This win earned him his first "Performance of the Night" bonus. This award is given for an outstanding performance.
On February 4, 2017, Blaydes fought Adam Milstead. Blaydes won by TKO when Milstead got a knee injury.
Blaydes then faced Daniel Omielańczuk on July 8, 2017. He won the fight by a unanimous decision. This means all the judges agreed he won.
On November 4, 2017, Blaydes fought Alexey Oleynik. He won by TKO after the doctor stopped the fight.
Blaydes faced Mark Hunt on February 11, 2018. He won this fight by unanimous decision.
On June 9, 2018, Blaydes fought Alistair Overeem. He won by TKO in the third round. He earned another "Performance of the Night" bonus for this win.
Blaydes had a rematch with Francis Ngannou on November 24, 2018. He lost this fight by TKO in the first round.
On March 23, 2019, Blaydes faced Justin Willis. Blaydes used his strong wrestling skills to take Willis down many times. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Blaydes fought Shamil Abdurakhimov on September 7, 2019. He won by TKO in the second round.
On January 25, 2020, Blaydes faced Junior dos Santos. He won this fight by TKO in the second round.
Blaydes then fought Alexander Volkov on June 20, 2020. He won by unanimous decision after five rounds. In this fight, he set a record for the most takedowns in a UFC Heavyweight fight.
Blaydes was supposed to fight Derrick Lewis in November 2020. But the fight was postponed. They fought on February 20, 2021. Blaydes lost this fight by knockout in the second round. After this, he signed a new contract with the UFC.
On September 25, 2021, Blaydes faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Blaydes won the fight by unanimous decision.
Blaydes fought Chris Daukaus on March 26, 2022. He won by TKO early in the second round. This win also earned him a "Performance of the Night" award.
On July 23, 2022, Blaydes faced Tom Aspinall. Blaydes won by TKO after Aspinall got a knee injury early in the fight.
Blaydes fought Sergei Pavlovich on April 22, 2023. He lost this fight by TKO in the first round.
Blaydes was scheduled to fight Jailton Almeida in November 2023. But he had to withdraw. They were rescheduled to fight on March 9, 2024, at UFC 299. Blaydes won the fight by TKO in the second round. This fight also earned him another "Performance of the Night" award.
Blaydes faced Tom Aspinall again on July 27, 2024. This fight was for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Blaydes lost the fight by knockout in the first minute.
Blaydes is scheduled to fight Rizvan Kuniev on February 22, 2025.
Curtis Blaydes' Life Outside the Ring
Curtis Blaydes has a daughter named Harlie.
Achievements and Awards
Mixed Martial Arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (Four times): He won this award for his fights against Cody East, Alistair Overeem, Chris Daukaus, and Jailton Almeida.
- Most takedowns landed in UFC Heavyweight division history (62).
- 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.
Wrestling Achievements
- National Junior College Athletic Association
- NJCAA Heavyweight National Champion (2012) from Harper College.
- NJCAA All-American (2012) from Harper College.
Professional MMA Record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 24 matches | 18 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 13 | 5 |
| By decision | 5 | 0 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 win for Blaydes; later changed to a No Contest. |
| 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: Moises vs. Castillo | February 19, 2016 | 3 | 0:41 | Orem, Utah, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Allen Crowder | TKO (punches) | RDMMA: Battle in the South 10 | April 10, 2015 | 2 | N/A | Wilmington, North Carolina, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Brad Faylor | TKO (punches) | SCS 23: Redemption | 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. |
Amateur MMA Record
| Amateur record breakdown | ||
| 5 matches | 5 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 5–0 | Tyler Reece | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | XFO Fight NIght | February 21, 2014 | 1 | 0:24 | Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Anthony Harvey | Decision (unanimous) | Brawl at the Hall 10 | November 15, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Joliet, Illinois, United States | Defended the BOH Amateur Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 3–0 | Pete Juska | TKO (punches) | AFPC 13 - Summer Brawl | July 13, 2013 | 1 | 2:16 | Villa Park, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Angel Cabral | TKO (punches) | Brawl at the Hall | June 7, 2013 | 1 | 2:16 | Joliet, Illinois, United States | Won the BOH Amateur Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 1–0 | Robbie Strong | TKO (punches) | No Mercy 2012 | September 29, 2012 | 1 | 0:13 | Melrose Park, Illinois, United States |
See also
In Spanish: Curtis Blaydes para niños
- List of male mixed martial artists
- List of current UFC fighters
