Blaydes, Daukaus set for colossal clash

Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus will have a colossal heavyweight clash for the main event of the next UFC Fight Night, scheduled for the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on the morning of Sunday 27 March 2022.

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Blaydes (15-3, 1 NC, 10 KO) has been in great form in the past three years, racking up five wins from six trips to the Octagon. His only defeat came at the hands of Derrick Lewis just over a year ago, but he returned to winning form with a unanimous decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in September.

The 31-year-old ‘Razor’ is hoping that a victory will put him in line to be a potential title contender.

“I’m in limbo,” explained Blaydes. “Right now, the clarity [in regards to the heavyweight title, currently held by long-term injury absentee Francis Ngannou] just isn’t there.

“I get it. If you do have an idea how long he’s going to be out and you think it’s going to be almost a year, yeah, an interim [title], it makes sense. They’ve got pay-per-view fights they’ve got to fill. It sets up automatic opponents. That’s why I like it.”

Daukaus (12-4, 11 KO), meanwhile, was last in action in December last year, suffering a first-round knockout defeat to Lewis. The ‘L’ put an end to a run of five straight wins for the 32-year-old, who is nonetheless hoping to make a major move up the rankings with victory in this clash.

“I am absolutely ready for this,” said Daukaus. “This is everything that I've wanted to do, and this comes along with the territory. I want the big-name fights, I want the main event spots, I want my name and my face on the giant billboards in Times Square. I want everything that the UFC can push, and that the media can throw at me... I want it all.”

The rest of the main card features a flyweight clash between Askar Askarov and Kai Kara-France; Matt Brown v Bryan Barberena in the welterweight division; a featherweight match pitting Nate Landwehr against Uganda’s David Onama; lir Latifi v Aleksei Oleinik in the heavyweight category; and a women’s flyweight co-main event between Joanne Wood and Alexa Grasso.

UFC Fight Night: Blaydes v Daukaus – Main card

- Main event: Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes v Chris Daukaus

- Co-main: Women’s flyweight: Joanne Wood v Alexa Grasso

- Flyweight: Askar Askarov v Kai Kara-France

- Welterweight: Matt Brown v Bryan Barberena

- Heavyweight: Ilir Latifi v Aleksei Oleinik

- Featherweight: Nate Landwehr v David Onama