Curtis Blaydes is keeping a positive attitude after a brutal knockout loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 185.
Blaydes (14-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) had his push toward a heavyweight title shot derailed this past Saturday when he was caught with a picture-perfect uppercut by Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) in the second round of their main event matchup at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The fight was going in Blaydes’ favor before the stunning shot. He was controlling the pace on the feet, but as “The Black Beast” has shown many times, it only takes one mistake against him. Blaydes made that mistake when he went for an ill-timed takedown.
Despite the highlight-reel nature of the outcome, Blaydes said he’s not deterred. He shared his first post-fight comments Tuesday and said he’s not beating himself up over losing the way he did.
“Sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail,” Blaydes wrote on his Instagram stories. “This game has a razor thin margin for error and I just got caught, it happens. Props to Derrick. No shame in it my head’s still held high.”
The loss to Lewis snapped a four-fight winning streak for Blaydes, and it marked the first time he’d been beaten by an opponent other than Francis Ngannou.
After completing the fight with Lewis, Blaydes now has one bout remaining on his current UFC contract, and it remains to be seen what the future holds for him.
