‘Razor blade’ Curtis Blaze (32, USA), who is called the best UFC heavyweight wrestler, starts a restart towards the top challenge against a powerful striker. The opponent is Sergei Pavlovich (30, Russia), a person who is called the best striker in the weight class, and has a completely different fighting style from the Blaze, so fans are paying extraordinary attention.
The two will face off in the main event of ‘UFC Fight Night: Pavlovic vs Blaze’ at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on the 23rd (Korean time).
Blaze is regarded as one of the best wrestlers in his weight class. He recorded a total of 62 takedowns and held the top position for a total of 1 hour and 6 minutes. All of them are overwhelmingly #1 in heavyweight history. As a former NJCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) champion, her main weapon is the double leg takedown based on her powerful power and quickness.안전놀이터
Blaze enjoys the pattern of using his long-term wrestling skills to overwhelm the opponent and then unraveling the game by pounding in a higher position. In particular, as can be seen from the nickname ‘Razor Blade’, his elbow attack is very powerful. He often creates bloody scenes by sharply tearing off the opponent’s skin.
Blaze drags opponents to the ground in a variety of ways. Because of his agile movements, he is good at making one-leg and two-leg tackles like bullets after entering one or two shots from a long distance, as well as shaking the opponent in a clinch situation and knocking him off the center before passing it over. It is difficult for the opponent to respond because he has a lot of repertoire such as grabbing his waist and tripping him, as well as kicking his ankle.
Of course, no matter how good grappling is, it is difficult to survive in the top ranks with the ‘ground and pound’ one pattern in modern MMA. Grapplers also need to be competitive to a certain extent in standing fights to properly display their long-term skills. As a result, the Blaze also seems to be improving their batting ability as they play.
Compared to striker types, his technical details are inferior, but based on his quick footwork, he uses fierce punch attacks such as hooks, straights, and uppercuts. The power is also considerable, so there are not only two opponents who fell with their legs loosened after being hit with an unexpected blow while checking his wrestling. Both his front and back hands are fast, and his strength is good, so he can withstand a fair amount of attacks and go in.
Blaze likes to take advantage of this point and presses with punches before entering into a takedown connection. If you drive it to the corner of the cage and swing a punch, your opponent will raise a face guard or try to hit you with a counter. At that moment, Blaze will either attempt a clinch or lower himself and grab his waist or legs for a takedown. If the opponent is wary of a takedown, he may catch them off guard with punches or knee kicks.
His opponent, Pavlovic, is also formidable. He is hitting 8.07 blows per minute and is averaging 6.67 knockdowns per 15 minutes. He is the fighter who hits the most in UFC heavyweight history, and every single shot is heavy. All of his last 5 fights ended in first round KO (TKO) victories.
But there are also concerns. Wrestling and ground defense. Pavlovic lost by TKO after being taken down by Alistair Overeem (42, Netherlands) in her UFC debut match. Therefore, the key to this match is whether Pavlovic can block Blaze’s takedown.
Blaze exclaimed, “My wrestling is a big deal to other fighters. If you don’t think so, you don’t understand MMA. My ability to take a fight to the ground whenever I want puts a lot of mental pressure on my opponent.” .
Pavlovic’s base is Greco-Roman wrestling. He practiced wrestling for 12 years, starting at the age of five. He struggled wrestling in his UFC debut, but describes it as octagonal jitters common to rookie fighters. “We’ll soon see if he can take me down or not,” says Pavlovic.
The winner of this match is likely to be the next UFC heavyweight title contender. Pavlovic is ranked #3 in the heavyweight division, and Blaze is #4. With 5 consecutive wins and 3 consecutive wins, respectively, the winner is qualified. Former champion Stipe Miocic (40, USA), current UFC heavyweight ‘GOAT (greatest player in history)’, is scheduled to challenge champion Jon Jones (35, USA).
Blaze doesn’t hide his ambition for a title shot. “If I win this time, I’ll wait (for the title shot), no matter who the opponent is. Whether it’s Jones or Mio Chicchi or bring in Brock Lesnar, I’ll wait,” he said. On the other hand, Pavlovic said, “I don’t want to go too far ahead. I will focus only on the game given in front of me.” It is part of the personality of the two.
Attention is focusing on who will survive in the match of different colors between the top wrestler and striker. UFC Fight Night ‘Pavlovic vs Blaze’ main card will be broadcast live on TVING and tvN SPORTS on the 23rd.