Curtis Blaydes-Courtesy UFC.com
Curtis Blaydes willing to reconcile with Dana White: “He just needs to respect me”
At UFC Vegas 3, Curtis Blaydes picked up his fourth consecutive win, cementing his place as a top contender in the heavyweight division. Blaydes’ dominant showing over Alex Volkov has put him in place to not only be a part of the heavyweight title conversation, but there’s real debate that he should be one of the next title challengers.
Before his fight against Volkov, the dominant wrestler sent a message to the fans saying exactly what he was going to do in the fight, and it wouldn’t be a stand-and-bang war. Staying true to his word, Blaydes utilized his wrestling throughout the fight and won a decision against Volokv, which caught criticism from UFC President Dana White.
Following the fight, White said Blaydes “looked stupid” for his pre-fight trash talk and for the performance that followed his comments. While the beef between White and Blaydes has been out in the public, the heavyweight contender told the ‘On The Mic‘ podcast that he’s willing to settle the issues with White, if he’s given respect.
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“It wouldn’t be that hard for me, he just has to respect me,” Blaydes said. “I feel like he doesn’t respect me, he doesn’t respect what I bring to the Octagon, he doesn’t respect the hard work I put in to do what I do. To wrestle for just a three-round fight is extremely difficult, to do it for a five-round fight, that took everything I had. He doesn’t respect that. That would probably be the biggest hurdle for us to get over, he has to respect me.”
Looking for respect that he certainly deserves for the career he’s had and the skills he brings into his fights, Blaydes said he does respect Dana White for what he’s built with the UFC.
“I respect him, I understand what he’s done for the company. I know the history, he took a chance in the beginning when the UFC wasn’t what it is today. It wasn’t a billion dollar industry, he took the risk, and I appreciate that because he created a platform for guys like me to be able to go out and earn a profit and feed our families. I appreciate that.”
There are still other hurdles that bother Blaydes when it comes to White and one of the most important situations he won’t stop addressing is fighter pay.
“I don’t like how he thinks it’s alright that we [fighters] only get 18% of the profit. How do you go to sleep at night like ‘yeah, I’m doing a good job.’ no bro, that’s wrong. Wrong is wrong and I’m willing to call it out when I see it.”
Racking up four wins and ranked among the top contenders in the heavyweight division, Curtis Blaydes is among the very best and is just looking for the respect he deserves for the career he’s put together thus far.
