Prediction: Rivzan Kuniev via TKO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev is one of those matchups where the name value doesn\u2019t tell the whole story. Blaydes is the established guy with the big UFC wins and top-level wrestling r\u00e9sum\u00e9\u2014but honestly, this version of Blaydes just isn\u2019t the same dude that bulldozed guys with takedowns and pressure a few years ago. And when you add in the dog odds on Kuniev? This becomes a must-play underdog shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s start with Blaydes. He\u2019s taken a lot<\/em> of damage lately, and it\u2019s not just bad luck\u2014it\u2019s the result of how he\u2019s been fighting. His striking has 100% improved, credit to his coaches, but somewhere along the way he started falling in love with it. Instead of using his hands to set up takedowns, he\u2019s started using his wrestling as a backup plan, and that\u2019s gotten him slept<\/em> by some of the heaviest hitters in the division. The footwork isn\u2019t sharp anymore, he doesn’t move the same, and his defensive guard is basically non-existent. The dude still has pop, but he\u2019s way more hittable now\u2014and when you get hit clean at heavyweight, there\u2019s no forgiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, Rizvan Kuniev didn\u2019t blow anyone away in his last fight. But if you look past that performance and check how he showed up for this one\u2014leaner, sharper, clearly locked in\u2014it feels like we\u2019re about to see the Kuniev that dominated in Eagle FC and PFL. That version of Kuniev has all the tools to give Blaydes problems. His wrestling is legit. He might not shoot doubles like Blaydes, but in the clinch and in scrambles, he\u2019s just as strong and just as savvy. Even when he gets tired, he keeps coming<\/em>. He doesn\u2019t let fatigue take away his pace or pressure\u2014he just bites down and keeps grinding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But here\u2019s the real key: power in tight<\/strong>. Kuniev doesn\u2019t need range to hurt you\u2014he\u2019s most dangerous when he\u2019s glued to you in the clinch. He throws short shots with real power, knees to the body, uppercuts off the break. And that\u2019s exactly where Blaydes is most vulnerable. He\u2019s not good at defending in those tight exchanges, and lately, when he gets hit clean, he reacts stiff or flat-out gets hurt. Kuniev\u2019s gonna be right in that range all fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So while Blaydes might be the bigger name and the guy with more UFC experience, this is a very winnable fight for Kuniev. If he stays in Blaydes\u2019 face, keeps the pressure on, and forces those clinch exchanges, the damage is going to add up quick. And with Blaydes\u2019 current trend of slowing footwork and sketchy defense, one clean shot could change everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This isn\u2019t just a gut feeling\u2014this is a stylistic spot. Kuniev at dog odds is value. He\u2019s hungry, clearly prepared, and fighting someone who\u2019s been fading under the lights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Prediction: Rivzan Kuniev via TKO Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev is one of those matchups where the name value doesn\u2019t tell the whole story. Blaydes is the established guy with the big UFC wins and top-level wrestling r\u00e9sum\u00e9\u2014but honestly, this version of Blaydes just isn\u2019t the same dude that bulldozed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331\/revisions\/332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capmma.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}