Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 266, we will see a big time showdown in the heavyweight division. Two of the very best in the world will go head-to-head as “Bigi Boy” Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-2) takes on Curtis “Razor” Blaydes (14-3).
The two top UFC heavyweights are looking to pickup a big win that could put them in title contention. If you want to look at one of the very best heavyweights in the world who hasn’t fought for a title, look no further than Curtis Blaydes.
Blaydes joined the UFC back in 2016 making his debut against Francis Ngannou. While he lost that night, he’s gone 9-2 since then with the promotion. His two losses coming to Ngannou for the second time and Derrick Lewis.
Rozenstruik is in a very similar position as Blaydes. He’s one of the very best and he’s only lost to the very best. Bigi Boy has lost twice in the UFC and one was to the current interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane and the other was to the undisputed champion Francis Ngannou.
The last time we saw Rozenstruik was back in June when he took on Augusto Sakai. Rozenstruik looked great in that fight and scored a knockout just at the end of the first round.
UFC 266 Prediction
The fighting style of Rozenstruik is going to tell us a lot about how this fight is going to go on Saturday night. We’ve seen Rozenstruik fight incredibly tentative at times and that causes him to fall behind.
Now, he’s had punching power to bail him out, but you never want to fight from behind. Blaydes is one of the better wrestlers in the UFC and I’m expecting a very heavy wrestling attack from him on Saturday.
He fell a little too much in love with his hands over his past few fights and it cost him dearly the last time he fought. I don’t expect that from him at UFC 266 against a decorated striker like Rozenstruik.
Blaydes will hold his own on the feet, but I think his wrestling will get him the win here. Might not be sexy to watch, but I’m expecting him to be very effective.
Prediction: Curtis Blaydes by Unanimous Decision