Curtis Blaydes: ‘I would f*ck up Alex Pereira’

When a reporter at UFC 304 media day prefaced his question with the mention of “[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s inevitable move to the heavyweight division,” [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] didn’t hesitate to cut him off with two words that spoke volumes.

“Bad idea,” Blaydes said.

Pereira, the former middleweight champion and current light heavyweight titleholder, has teased a move to heavyweight after two successful defenses of his 205-pound belt this year. Should the UFC grant Pereira’s wish, it’s a matchup Blaydes would welcome with open arms.

“I know this is what everyone wants to hear: Yes, I would f*ck up Alex Pereira,” Blaydes said. “Not because he’s not good, (but because) I’m heavier. Just a heavyweight, gravity, weight matters. It’s not his skill base. That’s just how it is.”

In fact, Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) is so confident that he had no qualms sharing how he would approach a fight with Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC).

“Him, I’ll give you my premeditated plan: I’m gonna shoot immediately,” Blaydes said. “Why would I give him any chance to knock me out on the feet when I know I can take him down at will? And I’m sure he has to know that. I think he’s looking for a specific heavyweight, not any heavyweight.”

First, Blaydes has business to tend to Saturday at Co-op Live where he’ll meet interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in the night’s co-main event. A win there would put Blaydes on Pereira’s radar given his career goal of making history as the first UFC fighter to claim gold in three divisions.