Curtis Blaydes wants Stipe Miocic, then Daniel Cormier, then Jon Jones

If all goes according to the UFC’s plan, the next crack at UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will go to former champion and WWE star Brock Lesnar. While a Cormier vs. Lesnar fight is almost certain to do big business, it’s caused a bit of a headache for the UFC’s top heavyweight contenders, such as Curtis Blaydes.

Blaydes, like many members of the MMA community, feels that Lesnar doesn’t belong anywhere near a UFC heavyweight title shot. Lesnar, of course, hasn’t won a fight since 2010, when he choked out Shane Carwin. Though there was briefly a win over Mark Hunt on his record in 2016, that win was overturned when he tested positive for a banned substance.

For Blaydes, however, that’s not even where the problems with Lesnar’s title shot end. In his opinion, Lesnar just isn’t that good. He, like the oddsmakers, expects Cormier to walk through the hulking pro wrestler. For this reason, he really doesn’t understand the appeal of the fight.

“Will Smith is very popular,” Blaydes told MMA Fighting, offering a comparison. “You think Will Smith can go in there at 185 and get a title shot? No. Brock Lesnar, he’s going to go fight for the title, go make beaucoup money, and he’s going to go get knocked out.

“He’s not good. It’s weird how MMA fans are, like, just fascinated by his muscles,” he continued. “Like, they just like to see a big guy with his physique in the Octagon. They don’t believe he can win, they just like to see him in Octagon. I don’t get it. Maybe they just like his tattoos, I don’t know.”

With a title shot currently unavailable thanks to Lesnar’s return, Curtis Blaydes is working hard to get himself a fight with former champion Stipe Miocic. If he can get past Miocic, he’s hoping there will be no further denying him a fight with Cormier.

“The perfect next 12 months is me getting the Stipe fight in November,” Blaydes said. “Me winning. DC, he fights Brock, let’s say January. We give DC a few months, he’ll enjoy the win, then me and DC square off. I beat DC.”

Apparently, Curtis Blaydes’s plans don’t end with Daniel Cormier, either. If he’s able to capture the title from Cormier, he’d then like to defend it against Cormier’s arch enemy, former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

“One of my roommates brought this up because of the whole Brock Lesnar thing, he says maybe Jon Jones pops back up and then maybe me and Jon Jones square off,” he said. “Everyone is talking about the money fight — Jon Jones is the money fight. He’s legit, a true warrior, a true badass. He beat a murderer’s row at light heavyweight, a lot of greats in their prime. He beat DC twice handily. Allegations or not, I respect him and know that would be a hell of a fight.”

What do you think of this plan from Curtis Blaydes?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/10/2018.