Curtis Blaydes inched closer to a UFC heavyweight title opportunity with an impressive second-round TKO of former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 24 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday.
The bout was supposed to be a battle of wrestling vs. striking; Blaydes has been known to take his opponents to the canvas while dos Santos’ striking has been his calling card throughout his career.
The exact opposite happened.
Blaydes was unable to deploy his wrestling early as dos Santos routinely stuffed his takedown attempts in the opening frame. Blaydes, however, did manage to find success with his striking and set the tone for what was to come.
As dos Santos sought to land a lead uppercut, he left himself open to a straight right hand. Blaydes recognized that getting the Brazilian down to the canvas was going to be a task and took advantage of an opening that few anticipated.
In the second round, dos Santos continued to load up on the lead uppercut in hopes of catching his opponent ducking in for a takedown. Instead, Blaydes fired a devastating straight right hand that caught the 35-year-old dos Santos flush and wobbled him badly.
Blaydes rolled into his damaged opponent with a buffet of punches and knees until the fight was called off at the 1:06 mark.
The victory was the biggest of Blaydes' career and could set the stage for the 28-year-old to challenge for the heavyweight title in the near future.