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Heavyweights take centerstage on the main card this weekend when Curtis Blaydes battles knockout fanatic Jairzinho Rozenstruick, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Up until his last outing, Curtis Blaydes had been silently but effectively amassing a win streak that couldn’t be ignored, as he strung together four straight wins (including over former world champions). However, the freight train with legs known as Francis Ngannou put an end to the streak, as he halted Blaydes — who looked good up until being sent into another dimension.
Curtis is a curious fighter in that he is primarily a wrestler and grappler in the heavyweight division, but what sets him apart is his brutal work rate and ground and pound on the mat. Known to slice opponents open with vicious elbows, Blaydes is a force to be reckoned with if he manages to get on top of his position.
While his striking skills, particularly his jab and low kick-into-takedown is improving immensely over time but his bread and butter will always be grabbing someone, taking them down, and grinding them into submission.
Jairzinho Rozenstruick finds himself in hot water stylistically against the crafty wrestler Blaydes this Saturday night. Although Rozenstruick only has two losses to his name, both of them came by stoppage and every moment Rozenstruick has been on the mat has been unimpressive to say the least.
If Jairzinho can enact a perfect plan of sprawling and brawling, he may be able to crack the potentially fragile chin of Blaydes. But if, at any point, Rozenstruick finds himself on the bottom in this contest, I expect a quick beating to unfold.
Here are the betting odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for Curtis Blaydes vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 266 on September 25.
Money line odds
Blaydes: -335
Rozenstruik: +260
Total rounds: 1.5 (Over -155, Under +125)
Winning method
Blaydes by KO/TKO/DQ: +120
Rozenstruik by KO/TKO/DQ: +380
Blaydes by Submission: +900
Rozenstruik by Submission: +3500
Blaydes by Decision: +200
Rozenstruik by Decision: +900
Draw: +5000
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