Curtis Blaydes Fends Off Mark Hunt’s Early Power To Win At UFC 221

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/962543437273706496

Mark Hunt is 43 years old, but the power in his hands haven’t dissipated an ounce. That means Hunt, one of the scariest punchers in the history of combat sports, now has Old Man Strength combined with his ungodly power. It’s scary.

Curtis Blaydes felt that power almost immediately at UFC 221 as Hunt busted him open with a series of shots before Blaydes took him down (it’s really the only way to tire Hunt out it seems).

Blayde recovered, bloody, and was able to take down Hunt over and over, but in the second round, his takedown attempts failed for the most part and he ate a few shots before finally planting Hunt on the ground. Up to this point, it seemed like Hunt might’ve been winning off damage, but Blaydes was smothering him on the ground.

The third round starts with Blaydes landing another heavy takedown on Hunt, who has little left. Blaydes isn’t doing much, but he’s advancing. Eventually, he starts landing shots from the full mount, to the boos of the crowd. No one is happy as Blaydes holds onto Hunt, looking for the Kimura as the clock winds down.

Hunt makes his way to his feet again only to be taken down again by Blaydes. For a fighter with a super-cool name, he’s a relatively boring fighter. His performance is still damn impressive considering his recovery and ability to slam Mark friggin’ Hunt to the ground.