UFC On ESPN 11 Full Fight Video: Watch Curtis Blaydes Knock Out Junior Dos Santos

In January, Curtis Blaydes stepped into the octagon to face former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. At the time of the matchup, Blaydes was the No. 3 ranked fighter in the UFC heavyweight division, while Dos Santos checked in at No. 4.

Blaydes was on a two-fight winning streak ahead of the bout. Dos Santos was looking for some payback. In his most recent outing his three-fight winning streak came to an abrupt end when Francis Ngannou knocked Dos Santos out 1:11 into the first round of their scrap. The closing odds of the Blaydes vs. Dos Santos fight favored Blaydes as a -333 favorite over Dos Santos, who came into the bout as a +202 underdog.

Early in the fight it was obvious that Dos Santos had worked on his takedown defense. He stopped all four of Blaydes’ takedown attempts, but Dos Santos did not have much success in the striking department. In the first five minutes, Blaydes landed 14 significant strikes, while Dos Santos connected on five.

If Blaydes was bothered by Dos Santos’ success in stopping his takedown attempts, he did not show it. He pursued the ex-champ early in the second round and found success with his striking.

With a minute gone from the clock in the second round, Blaydes caught Dos Santos with a powerful right hand. He then backed him to the cage and landed knees to the body and head before wrapping things up with more punches to the head. The referee waved off the contest at the 66-second mark of the second stanza.

Blaydes mixes it up with Alexander Volkov in the main event of tonight’s UFC on ESPN 11 fight card. Before that event takes place, watch Blaydes score a knockout win over Dos Santos.