UFC heavyweight prospect Curtis Blaydes scored eight takedowns and 72 strikes on opponent Adam Milstead in under six minutes on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 104. That is a strike ever five seconds and a takedown every 45 seconds.
Does @RazorBlaydes265 realize Milstead is 230+ lbs?!?!? #UFCHouston pic.twitter.com/Hch2VBX30o
— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2017
“>@RazorBlaydes265 realize Milstead is 230+ lbs?!?!? #UFCHoustonpic.twitter.com/Hch2VBX30o
— UFC (@ufc)
Does @RazorBlaydes265 realize Milstead is 230+ lbs?!?!? #UFCHoustonpic.twitter.com/Hch2VBX30o
— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2017
“>February 5, 2017
The fight ended at 0:59 of Round 2 due to injury.
At one point during Round 1, Milstead posted hard and his knee could be seen to buckle at an unnatural. Color commentator Brian Stann was adamant that Milstead’s corner shouldn’t have let him out for Round 2, and the knee in fact buckled worse, and the fight was stopped.
However, Milstead posted on his social network that his corner was unaware of the injury. This was confirmed by his coach later.
To clear the air. I never told my corners my knee was jacked they would of stopped it had I done so. I will go out on my shield by my choice
— Adam Milstead (@AdamMilstead) February 5, 2017
“>February 5, 2017
This was not Milstead’s first knee injury. A torn ACL ended his college football career, and he dislocated his knee in a previous fight. In a post-fight interview, Blaydes expressed regret at how he won.
I didn’t want it to end like that, said Blaydes to John Morgan for MMAjunkie. That’s just not how I wanted to win. I wanted to beat him, not cause an injury to beat him.
It takes me back to when I was a wrestler in high school. I won a match like that. The guy messed up his knee, and I felt bad because that could be me. I don’t want to lose like that either.
I don’t want to lose because of an injury. That’s how I lost my first [UFC] fight [vs . Francis N’Gannou in April], because my eye was swollen. That’s not how you want to lose a fight, because of an injury, so I feel for him.
Training at elevation [literally and figuratively], like I said my last fight, it really pays off. When I got down here at like 88 feet above sea level, I could have done that for five rounds – and that was the plan: just take him down and hold him down.
Really, I just want to think my coaches at Team Elevation. Without them and the guys down at MusclePharm, this wouldn’t happen like this. I wouldn’t have the cardio, and I wouldn’t have the help to get this ‘W’ the way I did, so I just want to thank them and all the guys down at Muscle Pharm.
As an athlete, you do feel like you can answer the call to anyone. If they tell you that you’re great, you feel great. But then again, I understand that my hands are still developing. It took me years and years to become the wrestler that I am today, so I’m expecting the same type of long, arduous journey for my hands to grow.
