Daniel Cunningham
In the featured matchup of the main card of UFC 327, we are going to see a big matchup in the heavyweight division. Former title challenger and top five heavyweight Curtis “Razor” Blaydes (19-5, 1 NC) will be taking on rising contender Josh Hokit (8-0).
After going 5-0 in Bellator and LFA, the former NFL player Josh Hokit got his shot on The Contender Series last August. After earning a UFC contract, he picked up two quick wins which made him a perfect 8-0 with eight finishes and now, he goes from being unranked to taking on one of the best in the world.
Curtis Blaydes made his octagon debut exactly ten years ago today, April 10th, 2016. In those ten years, Blaydes has gone 14-5, 1 NC in 20 fights with his losses coming against only the best guys in the world like Tom Aspinall and Francis Ngannou. Meanwhile he’s beaten the likes of Alexander Volkov, Rizvan Kuniev, Jailton Almeida, and more.
UFC 327 Prediction
Josh Hokit is 8-0 with eight finishes but right now, his persona is showing a lot more than his resume. Hokit is a great athlete and he’s shown some solid skills but the competition level isn’t there at all. I mean in the UFC, he’s only fought Denzel Freeman and Max Gimenis. Now, he’s facing a guy who has fought nothing but elite heavyweight competition.
Hokit has really leaned on his pressure and his wrestling, but I can’t see him getting the better of Curtis Blaydes in terms of the grappling. I think that Hokit is the better athlete here but I can’t pick him in this fight. He got tired really quickly in the Freeman fight and I think he’s going to run into cardio issues in this fight.
I’m going to need to see Hokit beat a top guy before I can pick him against top guys and until then, I’m going with the proven commodity in Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327.
Prediction: Curtis Blaydes by TKO
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