Blaydes fights through early scare, rides wrestling to decision over Hunt

It took everything Curtis Blaydes had to play spoiler on Saturday.

After nearly becoming the casualty of another walk-off Mark Hunt KO, Blaydes repeatedly scored points with takedowns and ground-and-pound for the bulk of three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory over the local favorite in UFC 221's heavyweight co-main event in Perth.

The 26-year-old's second career victory on points improved his winning streak to four and gave him the gumption postfight to call for a spot on the UFC's June bill in his hometown of Chicago.

Hunt did his damnedest to thwart Blaydes' designs on the W in Round 1, flaunting solid takedown defense and putting the youngster on skates with a counter right hand before stoically walking him down in pursuit of a knockout. But Blaydes miraculously used what remained of his faculties to score a takedown, move to full mount and close out the frame in back control.

Blaydes took the reins for the remainder of the style clash, putting Hunt on his back with ease and peppering him with shots from top position until the final bell to take the nod on all three scorecards.

Hunt - who had to obtain medical clearance to fight after being yanked from a November rematch with Fabricio Werdum due to health concerns - saw his UFC record fall to 8-6-1 with the one-sided verdict.