UFC 221 video: Curtis Blaydes tosses Mark Hunt around in co-main event

In the UFC 221 co-main event, the UFC’s the #9 heavyweight Curtis Blaydes earned a gutsy decision win over the #5 ranked Mark Hunt. Hunt let his hands go in the 1st, dropping his foe momentarily with a crushing right, but Blaydes was able to survive, find a takedown, and survive the round. Blaydes failed on his 1st few takedown attempts before finally flooring Hunt at about the midpoint of round 2, and keeping him there until the bell sounded. Blaydes went right to the takedown in the final round, keeping Hunt defending from his back. Rinse and repeat was the soup of the day, which was directly responsible for Blaydes sitting pretty in the Winner’s Circle.

Check out Mookie Alexander’s play-by-play of round 1 of Mark Hunt vs. Curtis Blaydes :

Round 1 - Body kick by Blaydes. Nice left hand by Blaydes in a fiery but brief exchange. Chopping right hand connects for Hunt. Takedown by Blaydes from way out and he gets it. Hunt gets out from underneath and is back to his feet, much to the crowd’s delight. Blaydes gets wobbled by a right hand! And another shot hurts him! Down goes Blaydes momentarily and now he’s back up. Huge takedown for Blaydes to stem the onslaught of punches by Hunt. Now Hunt is on his way back up, only for Blaydes to get another takedown. Blaydes in half guard and landing some ground strikes. Blaydes is in full mount, then takes the back, but there isn’t enough time to do much else. 10-9 Hunt.

Look at this classic Mark Hunt from round 1: