Curtis Blaydes Predicts Stipe Miocic Will Finish Daniel Cormier at UFC 226

The Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division is set to host one of the most anticipated fights in recent memory when current champion Stipe Miocic defends his belt against current light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.

One man who will be eagerly watching the fight is surging heavyweight Curtis Blaydes, who is potentially in line to fight the winner. Blaydes faced UFC heavyweight veteran Alistair Overeem at UFC 225 earlier this month, putting on a clinical performance against the dangerous striker, utilizing his excellent wrestling to take Overeem down and inflict some heavy elbows on him, winning by TKO in the third round.

Blaydes was a guest on BJ Penn Radio and was asked to share his thoughts on the Miocic vs. Cormier super fight at UFC 226:

“I’m gonna take Stipe. I like his kickboxing, his footwork, his conditioning. I know that DC is a good wrestler but Stipe is a pretty good wrestler himself. I think he’s got a lot more advantages. I think he gets the finish -- but probably into the fourth round, maybe fifth.”

Blaydes firmly believes he will get the winner of Miocic vs. Cormier and wants to do it and be champion by the end of the year:

“They’re both challenges, and I don’t think either one of them is easier or harder than the other,” he said. “They’re both great in their own ways, they both have pretty good stand up, they’re pretty good wrestlers. [My] only advantage would be I have a weight advantage over them, and probably a reach advantage also. I was thinking about New Year’s Eve, in Vegas. I think I deserve to be the champion.”