Curtis Blaydes is excited that he could potentially be the man to welcome Jon Jones to the UFC heavyweight division.
Jones has hinted at a move to heavyweight for quite some time but has still yet to make the move. However, Dana White has confirmed Jones will fight in 2023 and they are targeting March as his return date.
According to Nolan King of MMAJunkie, the UFC is targeting UFC 285 on March 5, 2023, in Las Vegas as Jones’ heavyweight debut. The hope is he will face Francis Ngannou on that date, but if it doesn’t happen, Curtis Blaydes is the backup plan.
Following the report, Blaydes took to social media to say he is ready for a five-round war with Jones.
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“Not sure how legit this is but if this fight happens I’ll be ready for 5 rounds of war,” Blaydes wrote on Instagram.
There is no question Jones vs. Ngannou for the heavyweight title would be a massive fight and one the fans hope will happen. Yet, as of right now, it’s still uncertain but it does seem clear that Jones will fight in March and Blaydes is more than happy to be his dance partner.
Curtis Blaydes (17-3 and one No Contest) is coming off a TKO win over Tom Aspinall in a fight the Brit hurt his knee in. Prior to that, he knocked out Chris Daukaus and beat Jairzinho Rozenstruik by decision. That win got him back into the win column after he suffered a KO loss to Derrick Lewis. Blaydes is currently ranked third at heavyweight and holds notable wins over Alexander Volkov, Junior dos Santos, and Alistair Overeem among others.
Jon Jones (26-1 and one No Contest) hasn’t fought since February of 2020 when he defeated Dominick Reyes by decision. Since then, he vacated the light heavyweight title as he prepared for his heavyweight debut.
Would you like to see Curtis Blaydes fight Jon Jones in March?