Curtis Blaydes plans to channel his “inner Justin Gaethje” at UFC 299 against Jailton Almeida: “I have the hands to put this guy away”

Curtis Blaydes says he plans to fight like Justin Gaethje at UFC 299 on Saturday.

Blaydes is set to take on Jailton Almeida in a pivotal heavyweight bout in Miami. The two were supposed to fight last November, but an injury to Blaydes forced him to withdraw from the bout. Almeida went on to beat Derrick Lewis by a one-sided decision and the two are now rebooked to collide at UFC 299.

Heading into the fight, the oddsmakers have it as a pick’em but Curtis Blaydes has full confidence he will KO Jailton Almeida. The plan for Blaydes is to stuff Almeida’s takedowns and keep the fight standing, and on the feet, he believes he has the power to hurt the Brazilian.

“I foresee it going down, me defending takedowns. I’m gonna channel my inner Justin Gaethje. I’m gonna use my wrestling more defensively and I’m looking to use my hands. I believe I have the hands to put this guy away on the feet,” Blaydes said on The MMA Hour.

It is an interesting strategy for Curtis Blaydes due to the fact he is known for his wrestling and usually relies on his takedowns to win fights. As well, in all four of his UFC losses, he was knocked out on the feet. But, against Almeida, he believes he will have the striking advantage and can KO the Brazilian, which would be a statement-making win.

If Blaydes does finish Almeida at UFC 299 as he says, it could get him an interim title shot against Tom Aspinall, which would be a highly-anticipated rematch.

Curtis Blaydes is coming off a first-round TKO loss to Sergei Pavlovich last April. Before that, he was on a three-fight winning streak as he had the win over Aspinall due to injury, TKO’d Chris Daukaus and a decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik. In his career, he has notable wins over Alexander Volkov, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, and Mark Hunt among others.