Curtis Blaydes was on the precipice of title contention heading into his showdown with Francis Ngannou in Beijing, China last November.
More than two-and-a-half years removed from their first meeting, the two heavyweights were headed in opposite directions. Ngannou entered off back-to-back losses, the first to heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and the second a perplexing, action-less affair against Derrick Lewis six months later.
Blaydes hadn’t lost since that April 2016 fight in Zagreb, Croatia, which was his first in the UFC. He was unbeaten in his last six and had won four straight, including a lopsided decision win over Mark Hunt and a punishing third-round stoppage win of perennial contender Alistair Overeem five months earlier at home in Chicago at UFC 225.