The Final Bell MMA
By: Dylan Saraiva
Twitter @DJSarv21 Instagram: @DJSarv21
The last issue of Final Bell MMA dealt with looking at two heavyweight contenders in Overeem vs Volkov. This week's upcoming fight night card is going to be the same as once again two of the UFC’s biggest contenders are in a headlining matchup. This card is headlined by Derrick Lewis vs Curtis Blaydes.
Both of these men have been perennial top 5 contenders in the division and provide an interesting stylistic matchup for the other as Blaydes is primarily a wrestler, whereas Lewis is known for his devastating one punch knockout power!
Lewis will be fighting out of the blue corner with a current MMA record of 24-7 and is currently riding a three fight win streak in the octagon. The last time Lewis was on a three fight win streak it culminated in a title fight versus Daniel Cormier which he ended up losing by a rear-naked choke in the second round.
Since then Lewis has dealt with some back issues but has gotten healthy on this win streak defeating : Blagoy Ivanov, Ilir Latifi both by decision, and then TKO’ing Aleksei Oleinik in the second round of their fight back in August. The knockout over Oleinik moved Lewis into the sole possession of the most knockouts in UFC history, a very distinct honor for the Texas fighter.
Lewis currently sits at #4 in the Heavyweight rankings and with another stoppage or fight of the night victory over Blaydes he could position himself for another title shot inside the octagon, this time against the winner of Miocic vs Ngannou.
Image: from Bleacher Report
The one weakness of Lewis is his grappling only landing 5 out of his attempted 25 takedowns in the octagon, however, he normally utilizes his grappling in order to keep the fight standing in order to keep throwing punches. There is the distinct difference between Lewis and the man standing across the cage from him.
Curtis “Razor” Blaydes is currently the #2 ranked heavyweight in the UFC only behind Francis Ngannou. Blaydes current MMA record is 14-2 and is an intimidating force in the vision only losing to Francis Ngannou twice. Blaydes is currently on a 4 fight win streak inside the octagon defeating a few other contenders such as former champion Junior Dos Santos, and the man who just destroyed Overeem, Alexander Volkov.
The domination of Blaydes comes from his strong wrestling ability where he has landed an impressive 33 out of his 81 attempted takedowns inside the octagon. That is currently a heavyweight record for the UFC as well, and Blaydes will often use his wrestling to control and then smash his opponents head off the canvas with absolutely devastating ground and pound.
Image: from Bleacher Report
Blaydes is seen laying devastating elbows onto Alistair Overeem
Blaydes has yet to be rewarded a UFC championship opportunity in his career but has proved he can defeat high level competition. Securing the victory over Lewis, another contender, would definitely be cause for Blaydes to argue for a title shot against the winner of Miocic/Ngannou. Although the two previous times against Ngannou have not proved positive for Blaydes the opportunity for the title may cause him to find the causes for his only two losses in the octagon and claim UFC gold.
The two men both have made strong cases in order to be in the title picture and although an opportunity right now for the title will have to wait until the champion has been decided in late March before negotiations can begin on the next heavyweight title fights.
The biggest way for Blaydes to secure himself a victory is to take down Lewis similar to his Volkov fight where he landed 14 takedowns, and cause Lewis to gas out while looking for the TKO finish. Blaydes being such a strong wrestler at heavyweight has proved positive so far as even some of the largest men in the division have had difficulty stopping his takedowns.
Derrick Lewis has accumulated a huge amount of KO’s in his career and that will be his key to victory in this fight. Finishing has to be the way for Lewis to put his name on the heavyweight title fight in the future. The longer the fight continues the more it begins to favor Blaydes’ gas tank, and where he can take total control of the fight. Although Lewis has gotten later round knockouts before, his best opportunity will come in the first 10 minutes of the fight.
This upcoming fight night card is a really intriguing matchup and truly does have title implications on the line for the winner. The fighter who emerges victorious on Saturday February 20th, should be given the next title shot, end of discussion.