Curtis Blaydes may have just earned himself the biggest win of his career when he defeated Mark Hunt tonight at UFC 221. The crowd certainly wasn’t happy about it, though.
The two touched gloves and were off. Blaydes took the center of the cage and threw some punches at Hunt. The Super Samoan stayed patient, keeping his hands low.
Hunt landed a punch but Blaydes countered with a one-two. Curtis then shot in for a double and took Hunt down, but Hunt struggled his way up quickly.
Hunt landed a huge shot that wobbled Blaydes, then hit him with an overhand right. The match could have ended there, but Curtis landed a takedown, giving him time to shake out some of the cobwebs.
Blaydes bled profusely as Hunt struggled his way back up. The Super Samoan got up to his feet, but Curtis took him right back down and rained down some huge punches. Despite Hunt’s wide open half guard, Blaydes didn’t bother to pass.
Curtis passed guard and got the back, but the round ended before he could cause any damage.
Round 2 started with another touch of the gloves and Curtis shot in immediately for a takedown. After a struggle, Hunt struggled out, though.
Again, Blaydes took the center of the cage and again, Hunt stayed patient, waiting for another opening to knock his opponent out. Hunt threw some jabs, but Curtis hit a double leg, landing in Hunt’s guard.
OHHH @MarkHunt1974 ROCKS Blaydes, but @RazorBlaydes265 recovers and gets the takedown! What a round! #UFC221 pic.twitter.com/0tda493rPa
— UFC (@ufc) February 11, 2018
The Super Samoan held on while Blaydes landed some short elbows. The crowd booed, obviously in no mood to see the New Zealander fighting off of his back.
Blaydes landed some huge shots and passed to side control, landing a few extra elbows before the round ended.
With the second round obviously in his opponent’s favor, Hunt must have known he had to win this round.
Sadly, that wouldn’t be the case. Curtis shot in with another double leg and took Hunt down. The Super Samoan struggled his way up, but Blaydes took him down and ended up in full mount. He landed huge elbows and even attempted a submission. Hunt turned to his stomach, allowing Curtis to take the back and land some punches. Hunt made it up to his feet, but it wasn’t for long.
Again, Hunt worked his way back up, but again ended up on his back. Blaydes landed more shots, holding Mark down in side control.
With a minute left to go, Hunt struggled his way back up yet again. The crowd cheered as the two broke up, but Curtis took him right back down. With thirty seconds to go, Mark Hunt needed a miracle.
He wouldn’t get it, though, and after the third round ended with Curtis Blaydes pounding away at Mark Hunt from mount, there was no question as to who was coming out of this fight with his hand raised.
Winner by unanimous decision: Curtis Blaydes!
