Curtis Blaydes and Josh Hokit put on one of the greatest heavyweight fights in history at UFC 327 so it’s tough to really call anybody a winner or a loser coming out of that epic showdown.
But just days removed from the event, Blaydes issued his first statement about the three-round war after he was immediately sent to a local Miami hospital for treatment. It was previously revealed that Blaydes suffered a fractured orbital bone and a broken nose in the fight but he was rewarded for his efforts with a $100,000 Fight of the Night bonus.
On Monday, Blaydes addressed the fight and paid homage to Hokit for giving him everything he could handle in the early leader for Fight of the Year in 2026.
“Emptied the clip, threw the gun,” Blaydes said on Instagram. “That SOB is tougher to kill than he looks.”
Blaydes and Hokit combined for more than 350 strikes landed during the three-round fight. Both scored near finishes but ultimately they refused to surrender while gutting it out until the final horn.
For his part, Hokit revealed afterwards that he didn’t suffer any major injuries, which clears the way for him to return to action in June after he was booked for a fight against Derrick Lewis at the UFC White House card.
Obviously with a couple of injuries stemming from the fight, Blaydes is likely going to be out of action for a little longer but he appears in good spirits after UFC 327.
“Did we save heavyweight chat?” Blaydes wrote in his comments.
Of course, the heavyweight division hasn’t actually been thriving much in recent months, especially after reigning champion Tom Aspinall was knocked out of action during his first title defense following an eye poke that ended his fight against Ciryl Gane.
Gane is now scheduled to face Alex Pereira in an interim heavyweight title fight on the UFC White House card as well. The UFC also announced signing Olympic champion Gable Steveson to the heavyweight roster as well.
But Blaydes and Hokit put on one of the most entertaining heavyweight fights in years and it’s hard to believe they won’t celebrate with a few more awards for that effort when 2026 is over.
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