Point of interest: Repaving wrestling paths
If Dos Santos presents similarly-themed threats to Ngannou on the feet, then one could also argue that Blaydes offers wrestling-based offense akin to Cain Velasquez.
An NJCAA wrestling champion, Blaydes carries a potent heavyweight wrestling style that translates well to MMA.
Showing all the signs of an aggressive grappler since his days spent wrestling collegiately, Blaydes has always appeared to have a relentlessness in his approach. Whether he is re-wrestling for underhooks, looking for mat returns or implementing his patented blast-double takedown, Blaydes can execute like second nature (even when under heavy fire).
Although I could see him having success with his wrestling in this contest, grounding Dos Santos traditionally has been no easy task given that he’s one of the division’s all-time leaders in takedown defense.
Dos Santos wields tremendous defensive fundamentals and hustle that even made the cardio king, Velasquez, dig deep despite dominating otherwise. From pushing down on his opponent’s head to creating separation from the fence, the former champion is hard to control in close spaces and scrambles.
If Dos Santos does get taken down, the 35-year-old veteran carries a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt that he can fall back on – though he usually elects to reset to his feet instead of pursuing grappling offense. Still, I can’t help but wonder how well turtling/tripoding back to a standing position will work against a fighter who feeds himself through wrestling rides.
Blaydes, like many wrestlers, does not play for your typical jiu-jitsu positions in hopes of finding a submission, as he’d seemingly rather dismantle opposition through punishing rides that see the American unleash strikes off of smart wrist-feeds and controls. And whenever Blaydes does get his opponent’s backs flat, hellacious, skull-splitting elbows aren’t usually far behind.
Velasquez was able to use wrestling to help him beat Dos Santos, but did so by primarily working from the clinch. Should Blaydes fail on his initial takedown attempts, then we will likely see more of what he has to offer in the in-between phases of the game.
Next point of interest: Odds, opinion and prediction