Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis will clash in the headliner of the UFC Fight Night 185. This match will have a massive impact on the heavyweight division, with the two big names deciding who will be the next in line for the title match. BetXChange brings and a short preview of the bout and the best picks, in our opinion.
Preview
Blaydes was one of the most promising heavyweights since the moment he entered the UFC. The Razor only perfected his skills as time went by, becoming more and more dangerous. He would have two defeats against Francis Ngannou, but managed to overcome that and establish himself as one of the best big guys in the organization. Will he get the chance to have his vengeance against Ngannou we don’t know, but a win here would most definitely increase the prospects for the same.
Blaydes defeated for of the lastest opponents, all with pretty respectable backgrounds, Justin Willis, Shamil Abdurakhimov, Junior dos Santos, and Alexander Volkov.
He is arguably the best wrestler in the entire division, with fantastic knowledge in this category. There haven’t been too many rivals who were able to defy Blaydes in this area. Those two losses against Ngannou came following KOs, and Blaydes didn’t have too many chances of showing his clinch skills.
Besides wrestling, the Razor had incredible cardio and is able to work throughout all five fights before reaching a chance to finish the opponent. That has been something where he made a massive improvement over the past few years. He is still not a fighter with a pure KO power in his hands, but knows how to deliver devastating blows. The majority of his knockouts came following situations set up with wrestling.
Lewis is the record-holder, with 11 KOs in the heavyweight division, the most for any heavyweight. Black Beast is a one-dimensional fighter, but that one advantage he has over others is incredible.
Lewis’s punching is astonishing, and he is the only one who has a more powerful punch than Francis Ngannou. You can ask Alexander Volkov about that, as well as Marcin Tybura or Aleksei Oleinik.
Oleinik was the last victim of the Black Beast, who defeated Ilir Latifi and Blagoy Ivanov before that, but after decisions. Against Latifi, it was unanimous, and against Ivanov, a split one.
Once a title-challenger, who lost to Daniel Cormier, Lewis is also a big name in the heavyweight and is currently the fourth-ranked in the division. Even though his skill set isn’t that great as with other superstars from his tier, Lewis’s unreal punching power allows him to be dangerous all the time, regardless of the opponent. And we forgot, he defeated Ngannou in 2018.
Pick
Blaydes knows what it is like to be KOd by one of the big boys, and he will for sure try to avoid the same destiny in this one. But in order to defeat Lewis, he would have to get near to score a takedown. We saw him doing the same against Alexander Volkov, whom he dominated throughout all five rounds. Volkov lost previously against Lewis, but the Russian’s recklessness was the key to that. Volkov was very confident until 10 seconds until the end, once Lewis KOd him with one desperate punch.
All in all, Blaydes should win here, and that is our pick for Saturday’s match.
Pick: Blaydes Wins 0.33 at BetXChange
