Heavyweights
Curtis Blaydes (11-2) vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-4)Advertisement
Francis Ngannou has now derailed his hype train twice, but it still seems inevitable that Blaydes will become a top heavyweight contender in short order. He was actually a betting favorite over Ngannou in his 2016 debut, but it turned into a fight where “The Predator” showed off some much-improved takedown defense and eventually battered Blaydes’ eye until the doctor stepped in. Once that fight was over, it was off to the races for Blaydes, as he showed off everything that made him such a hyped prospect. Blaydes is a massive, crushing wrestler who has been picking up enough striking to get by. While opponents like Mark Hunt managed to tag him, things always ended with Blaydes getting takedown after takedown. A brutal ground-and-pound finish of Alistair Overeem announced Blaydes’ true arrival to the top tier of the division, but that momentum was temporarily halted in a rematch with Ngannou, as the Frenchman managed to knock Blaydes loopy in just 45 seconds. Once again, Blaydes rebounded in impressive fashion -- this time with a mauling of Justin Willis -- and the time has once again come for “Razor” to put together a winning streak, this time against Abdurakhimov.
For a time, it looked like Abdurakhimov would simply be a footnote in the UFC’s history of main events. Previously a deep prelim fighter, the UFC made the call to pit “Abrek” against Derrick Lewis in a particularly weak headliner for a particularly weak 2016 card out of Albany, New York. The Russian’s performance did not exactly indicate there were great things to come, as he mostly tried to avoid Lewis in unwatchable fashion until “The Black Beast” eventually got his hands on Abdurakhimov for the finish, somehow breaking both of his arms in the process. Since recovering from that result, Abdurakhimov has been shockingly successful. He is surprisingly light-footed for a stout man, and his combination of mobile kickboxing and wrestling has been enough to rattle off three straight wins. Better yet, Abdurakhimov might even have found some knockout power, as he stopped both Chase Sherman and Marcin Tybura within two frames. It has been a surprising run for someone who appeared destined to be roster filler, but maybe Abdurakhimov was just waiting until he was 38 years old to hit his heavyweight prime.
Abdurakhimov’s winning streak has certainly earned him this chance to take on Blaydes, but it is difficult to see how he manages to win this time. Frankly, it is unclear what Abdurakhimov can do to stop Blaydes’ wrestling game. Abdurakhimov’s defensive wrestling has been spotty to begin and it is a particular liability against someone as giant and physically powerful as Blaydes. Abdurakhimov has knocked out two guys with solid chins in Sherman and Tybura, so maybe his newfound power allows him to hit the perfect punch and put out the Elevation Fight Team star, but outside of that, this looks like a bout where Blaydes can score takedowns at will and mostly do whatever he wants. The pick is Blaydes via second-round stoppage due to ground-and-pound.
Next Fight » Taisumov vs. Ferreira
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