Curtis Blaydes Warns Alex Pereira Against Heavyweight Move: 'Bad Idea' | UFC 304

Curtis Blaydes discusses his #UFC304 interim title rematch against Tom Aspinall, Alex Pereira's future at heavyweight, and much more.
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[@HashBandit]

Curtis is such a likeable person, very well spoken and insightful too, no ego, just out straight honest. Wish both Tom & Curtis all the best in the fight.

[@MrKAHutch]

He has a future in the front office at the UFC. You can tell he has some serious horse power between his ears. I like Blaydes!

[@aidanbryan8201]

He has such a likeable personality

[@pedroleon8758]

No ego? 😂

[@jokingbird]

Was about to post a very similar comment but you beat me to it :P I’m not really on social media so I don’t really know how Curtis acts outside the fight setting and tbh am not a fan of his fighting style but the way he carries himself during a fight week, how respectful he is while also having an underrated sense of humor, in a perfect world, him and Tom not only should be fighting for the undisputed title but also be the faces of the ufc instead of questionable characters (to say the least) that refuse to fight contenders...

[@HashBandit]

@@jokingbird Facts - I also never knew he had a stutter until I heard him speaker in fuller interviews - He carries himself very well all things considered.

[@quezlark7875]

I really respect Blaydes. He is just a straightforward, professional minded dude. Seems like either in front of the cameras or 1 on 1 you'd meet the same dude.

[@ammarali6574]

Respect to Curtis speach impedement just makes him more likable

[@xpacnwo2000]

Making out of Southside chicago makes him even more likeable.

[@antiasset]

I'm no expert but he seems really good at controlling it

[@alaskatoburningmen4549]

@@antiasset Yup, he seems much better here than any other interview i've seen.

[@luvsallbikes279]

Wow , what a gentleman Curtis is , I am glad he showed a little bit of what he is all about.

[@toysrus2413]

"If people laugh at you it doesn't mean anything about you. It means a whole lot more about them and their character" - Curtis Blaydes

[@omxln237]

9:06 where he talks about alex

[@RawDogTV]

Not everyone has a short attention span like you. Most will watch the entire video

[@R15_]

What a chill dude too bad either him or Aspinall will have to lose they’re both some likeable, down to earth guys

[@TheJoker-yz8dv]

That was a great interview actually, much better than most media days.

[@nilesrodriguez4343]

Blaydes keeping it 💯

[@MackVongsa]

Alex would catch him the same way Ngannou did

[@nilesrodriguez4343]

@@MackVongsa Alex would get absolutely rag dolled by Blaydes

[@alaskatoburningmen4549]

@@nilesrodriguez4343 Without a shadow of a doubt.By both Blaydes and Aspinall, but especially by Blaydes.

[@SarbjotSingh-b8b]

@@nilesrodriguez4343no he won’t. Blayeds couldn’t take down sergie who has no wrestling. He’s been knocked out by strikers like Francis,Sergei, Lewis. He was getting dominated in wrestling last fight until almeida pulled a 0 iq move. Let’s not act like blades is khabib lol. Plus Alex is so good at striking that people always discredit his wrestling. Like why couldn’t jiri,hill,jan or anyone at middleweight beat Alex using wrestling? It’s easier said than done. Alex could easily beat blades,Gane,sergie even volkov. They are all in top 5. He would pick apart blades, his striking and distance management is no where near Alex plus blades can’t just run and shoot it’s not that easy. It didn’t work against sergie or Francis lmaoo.

[@MackVongsa]

@@nilesrodriguez4343 Blaydes would def get KO’d before Blaydes could land a takedown.

[@MrKAHutch]

I’m pulling for Curtis. He can be a champion. Cerebral, long straight punches, good wrestling, light on his feet, and he’s from the South side of Chicago (so he ain’t no punk).

[@dreadnaughttactical]

Curtis took my cornbread.. back in 2012.

[@dostotolstoy]

cerebral ? 😂 one of the worst fight IQ i have ever seen in my life, he didnt use his wrestling in his fight against pavlovich just WTF and trust me he will lose against aspinall because he dont have fight IQ, im sure he can be a problem for aspinall, because i think aspinall dont have a good cardio but he dont have a good fight IQ for beat him, he will take a ko for sure if he try to strike aspinall too long.

[@SouthJohnston]

Curtis is so likeable that I can't root against him even though I'm English and Tom trains in my hometown 😂 Really like both guys and it'll be sad to see either of them lose

[@patricknez7258]

Curtis seems awesome. I'm rooting for Tom but i like Curtis too. He seems cool and nice

[@Senseijohn84]

This is how you address the media!👍

[@AliYusuf-e8j]

Respect to curtis blades. He is legit heavyweight. Straight up guy . no big mouth to to sell fights but heavy hands to sell fight . One of my favourite heavyweights on the planet.

[@itmightgetdark]

Curtis seems like a great guy. I'm pulling for him.

[@Anastasia70-h3l]

I’m glad you’re supporting him he’s a good dude I gotta support Tom but it’s all love both of them deserve to be champ.

[@wulftieth]

Love Curt, as an American I am still rooting for Tom bc I've followed him for a while, but I wish both fighters a fun, competitive contest.

[@seldom_bucket]

Great to see curtis overcoming his self consciousness about his stutter. Seems like a good man and i'm glad people are generally agreeing on that rather than trolling him, rare w for the ufc fan base

[@vaneast411]

Great guy… wish him the best of luck in the UFC 🍀🍀🍀

[@OfLaSoul]

Curtis and Tom are two likeable blokes. May the best man win on Saturday!

[@g-skwizzy]

don’t sleep on dis guy man

[@tari19]

Bro I didnt know that he was so inteligent

[@g-skwizzy]

@@tari19 never judge a book by its cover bro fr

[@tari19]

@@g-skwizzy I didnt! I was just sleeping on this one.

[@522336miguel]

He the one that will be sleep

[@g-skwizzy]

@@522336miguel lmaoooo we shall see , it will be a goood fight

[@sanchize06]

Absolutely correct regarding the power sliding scale as you move up the weight classes.

[@yasinekici8146]

One of the brightest man I have ever known, what a fighter as well. Wish you all the best brother.

[@GemCardCollecting]

As a pereira fan you can’t hate on him for chasing greatness. That being said, I don’t think pereira will be able to stop these heavyweight grapplers. Guys like Almeida, jones, Aspinall and blaydes are nightmare match ups for Poatan.

[@ReverenceQ2]

he seems like a very chill and authentic dude, can't decide who i want to win more, i'm a fan of tom naturally being from the uk, but blaydes is such a nice guy it's hard to cheer against him

[@ayo30s]

Incredible Questions And Answers. The future Interim Champ!!! Let’s Go Champ!!! 👊🏾🦁🦁🇳🇬🇺🇸

[@yared8771]

Curtis hairline is fascinating

[@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08]

Kinda looks like the top of a house drawn by a kid 😂

[@Strangingness]

THAT'S What I'm talking about Curtis Blaydes should be viewing Pereira as not a real heavyweight cause He hasn't been there. So should everyone else in the division.

[@domros1095]

Good deal Blaydes so proud of your growth man. You’re doing so well in the interviews 💪🏾

[@95NLESS]

Curtis is a great guy! Keep going brother!

[@MrWolfchamp-xi3cu]

This comment section is a breath of fresh air and a credit to the Mma community which can be super toxic All this love being shown here. And for a black fighter at that. Crazy. Gotta give them extra points for that cause we know it wouldn't be that way any other time. Mma fandom gets a rare W with some extra credit on the side.

[@nikolamiljkovic6069]

amazing person. respect for the man

[@AHealthySnack]

Big fan of both guys. This is the real main event for me 💯

[@alypha737]

dayum they really asked some good questions this time props to curtis !!

[@umarjongi3590]

HW division will get chama'd like the MW and LHW divisions. 🗿🏹🔥

[@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08]

There are multiple in the HW division thst would DESTROY pereira. Would you like me to name them or are you a casual which I absolutely know you are because of the chama line and the fact that you're a alex fanboy tells me you started watching MMA last year.

[@elias.v8081]

​@@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08all of the above. Fanboys are destroying mma

[@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08]

@elias.v8081 It's sad because I often find myself these days, rooting AGAINST alex pereira BECAUSE of his fans. Alex himself is such a good guy from what I've seen, and he's humble, or so I believe, but I root against him because of his fans and that is no fault of his own. I just want to see poatan fans cry. Worst fanbase in MMA for sure.

[@Brucelee-pv6uf]

‏‪5:54‬‏ wow man I love Curtis. He is nice

[@erollopez912]

curtis is really chill guy i’m rooting for him honestly! But you can’t hate on either him or tom.

[@MrEyesof9]

Good luck Curtis you've got everything it takes to be a GREAT champ!

[@flightshock8812]

Love Curtis so much

[@Scp716creativecommons]

Great interview.

[@DD-ls9sr]

I respect this dude a lot.

[@MrDadumbo1]

Curtis is a good guy. I hope he wins.

[@kurtmifsud5515]

"I came from wrestling. We don't talk smack." Chael: Hold my beer 😅 Anyway, I like Curtis. He's a good guy and wish him luck

[@eblasor]

Good guy

[@NeoValeTudo]

The 12-6 elbow is not grappler friendly whatsoever

[@IamTheBarian]

Blaydes is a fookin stud - give the man his due 🤘😤🤘

[@Rya_N33]

Props to Curtis he is a soldier

[@joksimradovic4040]

Sad one of these has to lose.

[@devinclark623]

He’s literally just a cool guy.

[@buzzedlightbeers]

blaydes is one of the few that beat alex

[@nicholasjones5380]

GO Curtis!!!!

[@kylelloyd8913]

I think Curtis will be able to do a lot with the new rules. Wish he could go to them this fight.

[@nahnah8776]

Everyone talks about how shitty MMA fans are as people, but I rarely see people mocking Curtis's stutter. He's a good dude.

[@MrWolfchamp-xi3cu]

Probably because they generally do act that way. Tho I don't see people talking about it like you say they do But as far as this comment section goes I was actually surprised by it to where I had to comment on it and it's unusual positivity. Especially to a black fighter (even more unexpected) and had to give it extra points for that.

[@bunswindon2735]

I want aspinall to batter him but Curtis is such a likeable guy

[@lukeluna3732]

This is the hardest title fight blaydes could have gotten wish they would have given him a shot before this one.

[@mattybanks1624]

Obviously want Tom to win but Curtis is a good guy and I'm glad he's getting his shot

[@lionheartlee4719]

Personally want Tom to win. But just hope both make it out without any injuries. Good luck to both

[@BrandonBreathes]

Curtis isn’t wrong but that doesn’t mean Alex shouldn’t try…?

[@BamOn742]

I lov Curtis🎉

[@randy9430]

Respect vriend

[@kennethalbright3427]

Blaydes and aspinall is the real deal screw jones

[@leecox5218]

so weird to me how no one is even talking about Curtis. Hes definitely beating Tom tomorrow.

[@Brad_5905]

Idk man i really like both and think both are great fighters but i think this will be a close one

[@pinkacademy5232]

Tomorrow?

[@leecox5218]

@@pinkacademy5232 no idea why I said that, lol

[@The_Movie_Ribbit]

not definitly not the 80/20 but more a 60/40

[@r.r.7497]

Blaydes, don't declare victory too soon...Alex is a beast.

[@watchmejumpstart24]

@@Amzyy How many times has Blaydes been knocked out cold reaching for a bad takedown?.. I'd put money on Alex knocking him out before he even got him to the ground tbh

[@ymkyourmoneyking8157]

@@watchmejumpstart24I’ll put money on blaydes knocking Alex out. Too big

[@nonamer0o016]

​@@ymkyourmoneyking8157Delusional at its best😂

[@JB-pk1jx]

@@watchmejumpstart24yeah bad take. Blaydes takes him down easy and elbows him till he’s dead

[@dyln7105]

​@ymkyourmoneyking8157 you don't think alex trains with heavyweights? He would for sure delusion😂

[@Lewisdovefam]

I like Blaydes

[@ChristianahAlabi-l2f]

Congrats Curtis.... Aaaaaaand Neww!

[@dtruth5769]

BLAYDES IS A COOL DUDE!

[@MrSilus2000]

"How was camp?"

[@guruthetank]

I'm a huge blaydes fan we went to h.s together, but I think it's crazy disrespectful to his former coach herc Hayes, out of Chicago. He's coached many great mma fighters out of Chicago.

[@dreadnaughttactical]

Curtis took my cornbread.. back in 2012

[@tbtnumbah8]

I know he wrestles in a very good one, but he has been knocked out by strikers, and Alex has the ability to knock him out

[@brim3384]

If Alex goes on a weight room program for 6 months I think he’ll move to heavy weight just fine.

[@HopeandPeace4]

I agree that Alex is heavy enough to go to the heavy weight division, starting at 205 which he is heavier, However, Alex have a lot of light heavyweights contenders who wants to fight him, and he is more light heavyweight, then heavy weight, I am a fan of Alex Pereria, he didn't go to Heavy Weight in kick boxing, sometimes it is not meant for a UFC fighter to go to another weight class, It's okay sometimes to give what the fans want, but not at the expense of going pass what is not meant to be, nor not being fully prepared for the transition in training and weight put on for that class, it is not worth it at the end of the day. And it is so much more to it than Just Physically moving, Alex have to train, spare, grapple with heavy weights to feel the weight, working against him and countering moves of a heavy weight, studying heavy weight opponents. Most fans don't understand that.

[@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08]

No glazing, no jones. But curtis might genuinely be the most intelligent heavyweight. Not that heavyweights are unintelligent, tom aspinall is intelligent, but curtis blaydes education and well spoken-ness REALLY strikes me, and truly stands hin out of the crowd of intleligent people. I find him more likeable than tom, even though both are really nice guys, however I will be specifically rooting for tom because I believe he would be the more entertaining fighter and the better outcome for ufc in general, especially their money making. I hope curtis doesnt set off to the sun if he loses to tom.

[@liambradley6718]

I get the Alex hype he’s a beast but heavyweight is a different beast with grappling involved

[@Ziyech1]

Bro got KO'd by derrick lewis and pavlovich lol

[@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08]

​@@Ziyech1 and was beating both before the KO 😂... Curtis takes pereira down and ground and pound flatlands him 😂

[@SpreadAU]

@@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08check left hook from a 250 lb Alex flatlines Curtis

[@dostotolstoy]

​@@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08Tell me what he did with pavlovich ? 😂 he doesnt have a good fight IQ he dont use so much his wrestling now so i dont know, if he use maybe otherwise he can take a ko with pereira.

[@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08]

@@SpreadAU Casual alex pereira glazer. Alex is truly a good guy but his fambase sucks. Might be the worst fanbase in MMA. Curtis himself has literally stated, for alex, he will immediately shoot and take pereira down. Also, Alex's coach themselves said that the optimal weight for alex at heavyweight would be 240-245lbs.

[@princecornel4984]

Love Blades too real

[@KITO1966]

One cool giant.

[@trubkadefekt3645]

Curtis crushes Alex if he actually uses his wrestling and doesnt try to stand with him which he sometimes likes to do too much

[@bolo5190]

Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane would be a great matchup too because they are both strikers. To me if Pereira could beat this opponent name Mogamed Ankalaev from lhw whose an elite grappler/wrestler which is his base while at the same time he's also well rounded, then I could believe he could beat possibly anyone at hw. And the thing about Pereira when he puts on weight he's putting just muscle, from 185 to 205 he still looks very muscular so I'm assuming if he puts on another 25 to 30 pounds of muscle he's going to hard to deal with at hw. Pereira is a physical specimen to the the point where he doesn't have to come in at hw weighing almost 265.

[@the_auditor1017]

Blades look like the sketch of the Lane Bryant shooter

[@jdogg1523]

Did curtis always talk like that?

[@ab.gv1]

yh he’s had a stutter since he was 7 years old

[@menacemichael]

Let’s go Chicago 💪☝️

[@allahalkareem8055]

Except for 63rd

[@tornadotom2390]

The majority of the fans do you watch the highlights but that's Dana's fault for signing with ESPN and that's dangerous for charging an astronomical prices for pay-per-views when they're never really worth it

[@antiasset]

Blades just made it a main event where i want both guys to win so its a guaranteed empty feeling for me now lol

[@davidhammond7339]

I want tom to win but Curtis is all class

[@BamOn742]

Worst media questions

[@SpreadAU]

Wonder if he was a stutter as a kid. Worked through it

[@bobbyears5604]

Even 5yrs ago his stuttering was really bad. But he's come on leaps out bounds since then

[@bluejay9235]

Anytime you fight a hard hitter, you end up asleep, Francis, Lewis, Pavlovich, you don't think the same thing would happen against the man who broke the punch machine record? C'mon man! 😂

[@MMAisTHEbestSPORT08]

The power cube record is what you're inferring here?... SERIOUSLY? 😂? If this doesn't prove you're a casual, idk what does. Joe pyfer... JOE GODDAMN PYFER, got a higher score on the power cube than ngannou. Alex FAILED to flatline KO izzy in their first MMA fight, whereas francjs would have killed izzy with the same shots alex landed on izzy.

[@kaffeegott908]

Before he mentioned the stuttering problem within his family, I didn't even realize it. I was wondering, if he ever tried cannabis, as it works for tourette patients so well? Maybe it does not help in his case...does anyone know if he was asked that question before?

[@bobbylongwitz6053]

he once got banned because of marihuana

[@rodneyrhinehart]

@@bobbylongwitz6053yeah got a fight overturned due to testing positive for marijuana

[@S3RAVA3LM]

Let's go double ko what?

[@Jz115zombies]

Way to go at the basic ass reporters

[@WDA2.0]

Curtis is going to get knocked out he's overconfident and he won't give John his props.

[@craigfarnam4527]

Blades is a beast!

[@spoopydoopy6798]

Curtis is a really freaking cool dude, man. I didn't know much about him before this interview but he seems like a chill guy.

[@sat8959]

Blaydes would be the worst possible matchup for Pereira, but then again, Blaydes tends to get BTFO by nuclear strikers.

[@The_Movie_Ribbit]

most british sounding american oat

[@kennethimpelmance9107]

Jon jones has 20 years of domination. On top of that he will beat anyone anytime in a street fight. You will die messing with Jon’s. Don’t put salt on the OG. Nobody has went undefeated. Jon fought everyone

[@neoconnor4395]

Literally all this guys losses come by way of knockout/TKO. And there's no way in hell Alex Pereira - the guy who knocks everyone out - could knock this guy out? 😅

[@RMor66]

No because he’s not gonna be an idiot and try to stand up with Poatan when he can just take him down. There is zero chance Poatan is gonna be able to defend a takedown from a guy that big and strong. The Pereira meat riding train would end immediately if he is matched up against any top 10 heavyweight with good grappling

[@neoconnor4395]

@@RMor66 Maybe but I also think there's an argument poatan would be even better at heavyweight because he clearly isn't enjoying the weight cuts.

[@Hughes.D]

Sounds like salim

[@paulsmyth3580]

Good guy' hard to dislike him

[@dreadnaughttactical]

Back in 2012 a guy who looked just like Curtis Blaydes took my cornbread off of my dinner tray in prison.. pushed it in his mouth.. looked me dead in my eyes.. as he ate it.. and said.. "D-D-D-D-DO S-S-S-S-SOMETHING!" Im pretty sure that guy was Curtis.. I did nothing.

[@vedranstupar7277]

why would alex take that fight

[@fj6763]

😂😂😂 Alex gonna knock your ass up🎉🎉