Impact Blaydes managed to leave Azerbaijan with the No. 5 ranking he came in with, but boy did he have to work for it. He easily won Round 1 on the strength of two takedowns and 3:01 worth of control time, only to fail on his last six attempts over the course of the final 10 minutes. For what it's worth, Blaydes said in his post-fight interview that he "popped" his MCL in the opening frame and was labored the rest of the way. The sudden ineffectiveness suggests that might be true. Regardless, Blaydes is going to continue to remain in title-implicating bouts despite the fact he's just 2-2 in his past four fights dating back to April 2023.
JUNE 21 • ROTOWIRE
