Curtis “Razor” Blaydes will take on Jairzinho Rozenstruil at UFC 266, and he’s already bored of his opponent. That’s if his recent comments to LowKick MMA are to be believed, as Blaydes labelled his opponent “pretty basic”:
“I wasn’t overly impressed with the technique. Obviously the power is impressive, but the technique is not. Like watching him, I watched him when he fought Gane and you could just tell the difference in the speed and fluidity and the technique.
Jairzinho is more of your old-school, classic plodder. You go, I go, you go, I go. I don’t find him that explosive, he doesn’t have crazy attacks.
It’s pretty basic. But it works for him, he sticks with what he knows. He doesn’t bring a lot of diversity which does make it a little easier to gameplan, but you always have to be aware of the power.”
Once upon a time, fighters in the upper weight divisions could rely heavily on their size and strength to deliver knockout victories without refining their technique. Many boxing commentators argue that Deontay Wilder is a prime example of that, albeit in the boxing ring and not the Octagon.
However, as the UFC has matured, and the sport of MMA matured along with it, fighters have increasingly focussed on their technical ability. It’s rare to see any ranked fighter without a strong pedigree across striking and grappling styles.
Blayes will need a victory following his third-round knockout loss to Derrick Lewis in February. Rozenstruik, on the other hand, is following a brutal first-round knockout over Augusto Sakai.
Blaydes only sees the fight going one way, however:
“I think I’m faster than him, I’m longer than him. I’m the better fighter overall.
I got the better striking. I think I’m more aggressive. I’ll be able to put him on the cage, and pressure him and then he’ll make a mistake.
I’ll be able either to put him away on the feet or get to his hips and get that first career submission win.”
Blaydes has confidence in spades going into the heavyweight bout. Which way do you see the fight going? Is Curtis right about Rozenstruik’s technique, or will he, too, succumb to Jairzinho’s punching power? Let us know in the comments.
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