After an intense weekend at UFC London, the organization is back on American soil and in Columbus for the first time in a while. UFC Fight Night 205 features a fierce set of fights across their prelim and main cards, and it definitely shouldn’t be slept on.
Headlining the card is yet another heavyweight banger between Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus.
UFC Fight Night 205 Main Event – Curtis Blaydes vs Chris Daukaus
Saturday night features yet another clash between top-ranked heavyweights seeking their shot at championship gold. Both fourth-ranked Blaydes and ninth-ranked Daukaus come in with a loss to number five Derrick Lewis, although Blaydes more recently gained a unanimous decision win against now eighth-ranked Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
All eyes are on the heavyweight belt, recently defended by reigning champion Francis Ngannou and with these two fighters, it is no different. Although due to Ngannou’s recent knee surgery, it is more likely that there will be yet another interim belt on the line soon, so who gets the opportunity at the interim title highly depends on how heavyweight bouts play out over these past few months.
If the rankings continue to receive massive shakeups such as those by Tai Tuivasa and Tom Aspinall — both of whom recently soared through the ranks — it truly is anyone’s game. A lot is at stake for both Blaydes and Daukaus this Saturday.
One of two ways this five-round main event can go is by either man falling face-first onto the Octagon floor or with one of them getting their hand raised after a brutal 25-minute war.
Blaydes bouncing back
“Razor” Blaydes has had quite the strong run in the UFC since his debut back in 2016. The smattering of unanimous decision wins against Daniel Omielańczuk, Mark Hunt, Justin Willis, and Alexander Volkov pale in comparison to his finishing record, with the likes of Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos both dropping due to Blaydes’ brutal knees and elbows.
Blaydes has proven that he is number four for a reason. Not only has he proven to have the strength to turn his opponents’ lights out, but he is also very much capable of going the distance if he needs to. The gas tank of Blaydes is currently his advantage coming into Saturday, but will things even go past the first round?
Run run Daukaus
Since 2019, Daukaus rode an exciting five-fight win streak — all via knockout finishes — before getting knocked out by Lewis last December. The elder Daukaus brother has an incredible 92% finishing rate, running through names like Aleksei Oleinik and Shamil Abdurakhimov with some heavy-hitting punches.
Daukaus has yet to prove that he has the gas tank to survive a five-rounder. The last time he had the opportunity to run through five rounds was back in December against Lewis, who did not let it past the first round, landing a clean right hook and knocking Daukaus out. Daukaus’s advantage in this fight is his strength, and a well-timed fist against Blaydes would be key to that top-five spot.
UFC Columbus prelims start at 1 PM ET/10 AM PT, and the entire card will be available on UFC Fight Pass.
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