MMA Preview – Curtis Blaydes vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 266
CURTIS BLAYDES VS JAIRZINHO ROZENSTRUIK FACTS
When is UFC 266? Sunday 26th September, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 266? T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 266? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 266
What channel is UFC 266 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC 266? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
CURTIS BLAYDES VS JAIRZINHO ROZENSTRUIK LOWDOWN
Curtis Blaydes (14-3(1) returns after his third loss to one-punch knockout artists. His only losses prior were to the current champ Francis Ngannou and since his second burial in 2018, he went on an impressive winning streak collecting the scalps of Justin Willis (unanimous decision), Shamil Abdurakhimov (TKO), Junior dos Santos (TKO) and Alexander Volkov (unanimous decision). However, he ran into another monster in Derrick Lewis in February who caught him with an uppercut from hell.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-2) suffered the same fate as Blaydes when he met Ngannou in May last year getting violently slept. Like Blaydes, he also finished the former champion dos Santos but then suffered the second loss of his career getting outclassed in a unanimous decision to Ciryl Gane. He returned four months later to duke it out with Augusto Sakai and dusted him off at the end of the first round.
CURTIS BLAYDES VS JAIRZINHO ROZENSTRUIK PREDICTION
This is the same match-up for Blaydes as the Lewis fight. He was expected to wrestle for 25 minutes which worked perfectly against Volkov and although it was a boring fight, the Russian was powerless to Blaydes’ wrestling.
However surprisingly, Blaydes actually decided to stand with Lewis and was actually getting the better of the exchanges, landing solid punches and legs kicks while escaping out of range whenever Lewis unleashed his wild bombs.
It was when he shot in for a takedown he got caught with the uppercut which was prepared and perfectly executed from Lewis so it will interesting to see how Blaydes will approach Rozenstruik.
His route to victory is still his wrestling and he has the ability to take the Suriname native down and keep him there for the majority of the fight. Blaydes may look to start striking again but he has the painful experience now of where not to leave his head and will have been planning a strategy to enforce his wrestling without getting hit.
Rozenstruik is on Lewis’ level when it comes to power and is far superior when it comes to technique as a successful kickboxer. This will be a slow-paced, uneventful fight if it goes Blaydes’ way or a highlight reel finish for Rozenstruik. We are backing Blaydes to dominate with his wrestling, but the value is on a Rozenstruik knockout.
Prediction: Blaydes via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Rozentruik via KO/TKO
