After losing out on its original featured attraction, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Columbus on Mar. 26 will now be topped by the Heavyweights.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and No. 3 ranked contender Aleksandar Rakic were set to headline the event until injury took out Poland’s finest. Ariel Helwani has now reported that the UFC is in the process of making Curtis Blaydes vs. Chris Daukaus the new main event.
Blaydes (15-3, 1 NC) is no stranger to the main event scene with four previous times that he’s been in the spotlight. For Daukaus (12-4), on the other hand, he’ll be making his second straight appearance as one of the two fighters last to make the walk on fight night.
Daukaus took on Derrick Lewis in Dec. 2021 where he suffered his first loss inside the Octagon. Always dangerous, Lewis put Daukaus away in one round with strikes thus snapping the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native’s five-fight winning streak (watch highlights).
Coincidentally, Blaydes’ last loss also came to Lewis when the two battled it out last February. Known for his excellent wrestling abilities, Blaydes found himself having more success on the feet with Lewis only to see his strengths cost him in the end when going for an early second-round takedown. Lewis caught “Razor” with an uppercut and disconnected him from consciousness. Blaydes has since rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 266 in September.
With the addition of the new headliner, UFC Columbus now has 15 total bouts. The current lineup can be seen below.
- 207-265lbs.: Curtis Blaydes vs. Chris Daukaus
- 125lbs.: Askar Askarov vs. Kai Kara-France
- 170lbs.: Neil Magny vs. Max Griffin
- 115lbs.: Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Ribas
- 135lbs.: Sara McMann vs. Karol Rosa
- 207-265lbs.: Aleksei Oleinik vs. Ilir Latifi
- 170lbs: Matt Brown vs. Bryan Barberena
- 125lbs.: Joanne Wood vs. Alexa Grasso
- 145lbs.: Tucker Lutz vs. Seung Woo Choi
- 135lbs.: Montel Jackson vs. Danaa Batgerel
- 125lbs.: David Dvorak vs. Matheus Nicolau
- 185lbs.: Aliaskhab Khizriev vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
- 145lbs.: Nate Landwehr vs. Lerone Murphy
- 155lbs.: Marc Diakese vs. Viascheslav Borschev
- 145lbs.: Luis Saldana vs. Bruno Souza