Curtis Blaydes wants Junior dos Santos next

UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes picked up a huge TKO win over Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC 242, and now he wants a piece of Junior dos Santos.

“Razor” spoke to reporters following the event, and called his shot for his next opponent when asked what’s next for him.

“I think the only guy that’s logical is Junior. They’re not going to give me Daniel Cormier or Stipe Miocic or Francis Ngannou. Junior is ranked right above me. It makes sense,” Blaydes said. “There’s no disrespect to him, I don’t think he’s the easiest guy of the guys ranked above me. He’s just the most logical one.”

With the win over Abdurakhimov, Blaydes improved his career record to 12-2, 1 NC, which includes a 7-2, 1 NC record in the Octagon. The only man he has lost to in his career is Ngannou, who has beaten him twice by TKO. Otherwise, Blaydes has smashed everyone who he has stepped into the cage with him on the back of a wrestling-dominant ground attack.

Blaydes told reporters that if he gets the fight with dos Santos that he craves, he will take him down and beat him up, too.

“I think I’d do the same thing to (Junior) that I’ve done to everybody else. I will take him down and I will ground and pound him,” Blaydes said.

Dos Santos was previously linked to a heavyweight bout against fellow contender Alexander Volkov. However, that bout has not yet been made official.

With Miocic recently upsetting Cormier at UFC 241, the fate of the heavyweight division’s title picture is very much in the air. With that being the case, it’s smart that Blaydes wants to keep fighting and keep busy in the meantime. A win over dos Santos and Blaydes would jump right back into the title picture.

Would you like to see Curtis Blaydes against Junior dos Santos next?