The three things you need to know about Heavyweight striker Francis Ngannou versus Heavyweight wrestler, Curtis Blaydes, for UFN 86 in Croatia.
More heavyweights plan for violence this April 10, 2016 at the Venue Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia.
The Match Up
Heavyweight Francis Ngannou 6-1 vs. Curtis Blaydes 5-0
The Odds
Heavyweight Francis Ngannou +130 vs. Curtis Blaydes -140
3 Things You Should Know
1. Ngannou can hit hard. I think that covers most of it.
There’s not a whole lot to go on when trying to prognosticate Ngannou’s future. He’s a modest throwback to the heavyweight division of old, when all you really needed was some punching power and opportunity. Of course, this isn’t Andy Anderson we’re talking about. Ngannou is supremely fast on the draw, so whether he can offset his grappling flaws to manifest his assets remains to be seen. Blaydes won’t make it easy.
2. Blaydes is pretty good at what he does. You don’t have to be thrilled. But neither will his opponents.
Blaydes is a 25 year old college wrestling champion who has done most of his pugilism work in Utah, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. Here’s a highlight from his last bout:
Not quite raw, but anything but clean. He”ll look to Fitch his way through the division, and has the size and potential progression to do so.
3. Cookie cutter analysis says Blaydes win this. It’s not wrong.
Ngannou often draws comparisons to his fellow countryman, Cheick Kongo. But nothing could be further from the truth. Kongo was a strange amalgam of a counter puncher with a grappler’s instincts forced to box (?). Yea, Kongo’s a strange fighter. Anyway, Ngannou has more in common with a sedated Melvin Guillard of sorts. He has a very quick left hand that looks like it was chambered by a flyweight. And his reach means he can land punches from the parking lot taco truck.
However, his grappling leaves a lot to be desired. And he doesn’t throw as much he needs to offset that disadvantage. Blaydes has a potent double leg, and an arsenal of ways to get the fight to the ground. He also melds his core strength with good technique. So if he wants you on your back, you’re going down. Plain and simple. His issue is that he’s incredibly predictable. He doesn’t waste time with strikes even though he has a capable selection of strikes. That can make him vulnerable against the elite.
Prediction
This is Blaydes to lose. I don’t see Ngannou having a prayer of defending the takedown, making this one pretty one sided, and in keeping with the Heavyweight matchups throughout the card.