If Curtis Blaydes Knew Then What He Knows Now

Jairzinho sucks in grappling department.
which has been proven in… which fight exactly?


i’m sure youre right but its not like HW has a bunch of great grapplers, youre just saying that with no proof.
 
Curtis Blaydes is supposed to be a great wrestler isnt he? Is heavyweight wrestling just that pathetic? Not even trying to hate but his wrestling seems pretty bad.

He's no Cormier, that's for sure.
 
I’m shocked a former heavyweight champ is still ranked. SHOCKED I TELL YOU!!
My point is IF he could string together a few wins he is right back in the title picture. Heavyweight is not a deep devision. Especially if big Frank isn’t champ.
 
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There's nothing wrong with that. We need guys like that. They're good measuring sticks.
Yeah I feel you.
But nobody wants to be the gatekeeper.

You have the talent to compete with the best but you always lose to them. That's gotta be tough to swallow mentally. Then throw on top of it the physical damage you take in this sport and in HW in particular... oof.
 
Heavyweight is a paper thin division because any suitably young talented athlete that size isn't going to choose MMA as their first option.

The UFC paying these guys peanuts is why the bar is slow low.

Heavyweight MMA in the UFC in 2021 still largely features one skill fighters that are generally sloppy, old for athletics and overall unimpressive.
Let's stop regurgitating vague statements and focus shall we?

1) and 2) Are true statements, but doesn't mean anything here. The fact is, Ngannou and Gane are two elite athletes who didn't chose MMA but are here by chance. It doesn't matter why they're here, they're here. If the topic was about whether we'll see more of them then this is relevant. If the topic was about Ngannou trying to make more money then this is relevant.

The topic is about Blaydes, his level and his future. He's well rounded, a decent athlete and he's only 30 so your third paragraph is quite meaningless here. Who cares what most HWs are like? He's competing with those who aren't these things. Blaydes, as I've said, is well rounded. He can strike okay and he's got the fundamentals down but he can't adapt, nor can he go beyond what he's learned. He throws strikes with good form and knows when to throw what. That's enough for a wrestler.

The problem with Blaydes is that his striking rhythm can be read and his takedowns are sometimes very telegraphed. In the HW division, this is bad news. You can get away with being clipped on the way in in lower weight divisions but in HW clipped most likely means rocked or out cold. Factor in the fact that many at the top are KO artists and that's terrible for him.

Although he has a chance. If he can win here, he may be able to get a title shot if Gane wins since we know nothing of Gane's anti wrestling RN. He may even win since Gane doesn't have enough power to KO Blaydes. That's IF Gane's wrestling is his weakness and from what we've seen of European fighters, they generally don't have high level wrestling coaches or wrestling partners.
 
Rozenstruik has very fast hands for a HW. The striking for some time and then eventually shooting isn't getting it done here, imo. Blaydes would need to wrestle as much as he can. Or he's getting clipped.
 
He’s the HW version of Corey Anderson, he has skills to beat a lot of guys but isn’t elite, he will ultimately serve as a gatekeeper who keeps losing to the top 3 guys. He’s been KOed three times by Lewis and Ngannou..enough said
 
Curtis wouldn't have shot that ill-fated takedown on Black Beast.
He's facing another heavy, powerful striker in Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 266.
Will we see a new gameplan from Mr. Blaydes?
Will he be tentative to shoot?
As the #4 heavyweight in the UFC, and the best wrestler in the division, there is a lot on the line for the 30 year old.
This is a pivotal fight in his career to show whether he has been able to build upon his talents.

his chin been CRACKED no coming back rozenstrike by viciousKO
 
Jairzinho Rozenstruik doesn't have the power imo.

He def has the accuracy but that raw power isn't there
 
Blaydes should have no trouble here. If he loses or looks like shit in a sloppy win (like Volkov), that would be a bad sign for his future.
 
Curtis is looking like he may end up being a professional gatekeeper.
not at HW. He's one of the better athletes in the division and that takes you a long way at HW. blaydes will always be only a good win or two away from a title shot.
 
Let's stop regurgitating vague statements and focus shall we?

1) and 2) Are true statements, but doesn't mean anything here. The fact is, Ngannou and Gane are two elite athletes who didn't chose MMA but are here by chance. It doesn't matter why they're here, they're here. If the topic was about whether we'll see more of them then this is relevant. If the topic was about Ngannou trying to make more money then this is relevant.

The topic is about Blaydes, his level and his future. He's well rounded, a decent athlete and he's only 30 so your third paragraph is quite meaningless here. Who cares what most HWs are like? He's competing with those who aren't these things. Blaydes, as I've said, is well rounded. He can strike okay and he's got the fundamentals down but he can't adapt, nor can he go beyond what he's learned. He throws strikes with good form and knows when to throw what. That's enough for a wrestler.

The problem with Blaydes is that his striking rhythm can be read and his takedowns are sometimes very telegraphed. In the HW division, this is bad news. You can get away with being clipped on the way in in lower weight divisions but in HW clipped most likely means rocked or out cold. Factor in the fact that many at the top are KO artists and that's terrible for him.

Although he has a chance. If he can win here, he may be able to get a title shot if Gane wins since we know nothing of Gane's anti wrestling RN. He may even win since Gane doesn't have enough power to KO Blaydes. That's IF Gane's wrestling is his weakness and from what we've seen of European fighters, they generally don't have high level wrestling coaches or wrestling partners.



TS opines if Blaydes is really that skilled. The answer is no, he's not.

The context is that heavyweight is populated with low skilled, low athleticism fighters. Therefore, he does just fine.
 
not at HW. He's one of the better athletes in the division and that takes you a long way at HW. blaydes will always be only a good win or two away from a title shot.
You just described a gatekeeper lol
 
Blaydes has shown he is the wrestler who gets stopped by strikers time and time again. I don't expect anything different here.
 
Blaydes just has to shoot from a longer distance like Khabib where he is so low by the time he gets to the opponent they don't have the chance of landing a lucky blow, sometimes he might get caught the odd time but that's how it is, because you have to worry about footwork to as a wrestler if you shoot from a longer distance the opponent could step in to range.
 
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