UFC 266 will see a heavyweight match-up between Curtis Blaydes and Jairzinho Rozenstruik go down in the heavyweight division. Both fighters are currently ranked at the upper echelon of the heavyweight division. Either man will be determined to move closer to a title shot with a win this weekend.

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Blaydes got his 4-fight winning streak snapped by Derrick Lewis in his last fight. ‘The Black Beast’ delivered another one of his vicious knockouts in that fight. However, ‘Razor’ remains a sharp outfit despite his loss. He will look to use his signature grappling skills against another knockout artist in Rozenstruik.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 20: (R-L) Curtis Blaydes punches Derrick Lewis in a heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on February 20, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Rozenstruik is a lethal striker in his own merit. He has only been bettered by Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane in his MMA career. ‘Bigi Boy’ earned a spectacular knockout finish in his last fight against Agusto Sakai. The Suriname native will look to add Blaydes to his collection.

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Blaydes has a record of 14-3 with 10 T/KO finishes. Rozenstruik’s record stands at 12-2 with 11 finishes. All of those have come by T/KO in his career.

Curtis Blaydes vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik: Analysis

knockout artists are Blaydes’s kryptonite. Ngannoua and Lewis are the only fighters to win against him in MMA. That being said, Blaydes remains one of the finest grapplers of the heavyweight division. He will be determined to apply those skills against Rozenstruik having suffered a brutal loss in his last fight.

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 26: Jairzinho Rozenstruik of Suriname poses on the scale during the UFC weigh-in at UFC APEX on February 26, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Rozenstruik has always been a bit gun shy, even in his wins. That might prove to be a recipe for disaster against someone like Blaydes. ‘Razor’ might just control Rozenstruik on the ground and eventually land his vicious elbows to earn a T/KO finish on his record.

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Final Prediction: Curtis ‘Razor‘ Blaydes by second-round T/KO

Also Read: UFC 266: Nick Diaz vs Robbie Lawler 2- Prediction and Analysis

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Apratim Banerjee

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Apratim Banerjee is a senior UFC author for EssentiallySports and has been writing professionally for almost a year. Before his current gig, Apratim worked as a UFC writer for Sportskeeda. A long-time MMA fan, Apratim has developed a critical eye for the sport that has helped him transfer his vast knowledge to his copies and give hardcore and casual readers a detailed insight into the fights and fighters. Dan Henderson’s brutal knockout against Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in 2009 is one of his earliest memories of the sport. He has never missed a UFC PPV or a Fight Night since, which speaks volumes about his wealth of MMA knowledge. Israel Adesanya, Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Conor McGregor are some of his favorite fighters. Apart from this, Apratim plays soccer in his free time and loves scoring long-distance goals.

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