UFC Fight Night: Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis top predictions

UFC Vegas 19: Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis betting preview

Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou are set to battle for the UFC Heavweight Championship at UFC 260 in March. The winner of that fight will take on Jon Jones next. The winner of this Saturday’s main event between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis will establish themselves as the next in line to fight for the title.

Curtis Blaydes (14-2-0) picked up a decisive decision win over Alexander Volkov in his last bout back in June. UFC President Dana White criticized Blaydes after the win for not having a more exciting fighting style, but that isn’t Blaydes’ game. The 29-year-old heavyweight is an elite wrestler that has only been defeated by one man (Francis Ngannou in 2016 and 2018); he has dominated everyone else he has faced with a 14-0 record, 10 knockouts, and a relentless ground game.

Derrick Lewis (24-7-0) is one of the heaviest hitters in the UFC. 19 of his 24 career wins have come by way of knockout, including his most recent win over Aleksei Oleinik in August. Lewis has bounced back from back-to-back losses to Daniel Cormier and Junior dos Santos with three straight wins, and an upset win over Lewis would elevate him back into title contender status. A potential rematch against Francis Ngannou would be interesting down the road as well as Lewis defeated Ngannou back in 2018.

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This fight was originally supposed to take place at UFC Vegas 15 in late November of last year, but Curtis Blaydes tested positive for the coronavirus which forced the fight to be scrapped. The price on Blaydes has become even more expensive over that time; while he was set to be a -400 favorite last time around, he’s all the way up to -475 now.

No bettor could be blamed for taking a shot on Lewis here as a +375 underdog on the top betting site. Lewis is a top five heavyweight that is capable of ending any fight he is in with a single punch. But in reality, Blaydes is too smart and too dominant on the ground to give Lewis the chance to land that punch. Lewis could find an upset on a fluke strike, but the most likely scenario is the Blaydes takes Lewis down early and often and dominates him on the mat before eventually finishing him off with a ground-and-pound attack.

Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis Top Betting Prediction