ABU DHABI – Curtis Blaydes beat Shamil Abdurakhimov with a second-round TKO Saturday on the main card at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi.
Take a look inside the fight with Blaydes, who won for the seventh time in eight fights.
Result: Curtis Blaydes def. Shamil Abdurakhimov via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:22
Updated records: Blaydes (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), Abdurakhimov (20-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC)
Key stat: Blaydes outstruck Abdurakhimov 46-3 and landed five takedowns in a dominant performance.
Blaydes on the fight’s key moment
“The fight was exactly how we predicted it might happen: how to hold him, get him on the ground, takedowns, everything.”
Blaydes on his dominance
“I’m very, very strong. I’m a very good wrestler. I knew once I get behind your kneecaps, there’s not much you can do. I was getting in there pretty easily.”
Blaydes on what he wants next
“I think the only guy that’s logical is Junior (Dos Santos). They’re not going to give me (Daniel Cormier) or (heavyweight champion) Stipe (Miocic) or Ngannou. Junior’s ranked right above me. It makes sense. … I think I’d do the same thing to him I’ve done to everyone else: I will take him down, and I will ground-and-pound him.”
(After Blaydes’ post-fight interview, the UFC made official a Dos Santos fight against Alexander Volkov in the UFC Moscow main event in November.)
To hear more from Blaydes, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
