Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis were originally scheduled to meet back in November in Las Vegas, but the former tested positive for coronavirus, forcing the UFC to postpone the match.

Blaydes is ranked as the No. 2 heavyweights in the UFC, while Lewis is No. 5. In other words, expect nothing but fireworks in this titanic showdown.

Both Blaydes and Lewis are eyeing a shot at the heavyweight belt currently held by Stipe Miocic, and whoever wins this Saturday should move a step closer to booking a date with the division’s champion. Miocic is scheduled to fight Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 next month, and it’s believed that the winner of that bout will take on Jon Jones. In any case, Blaydes vs. Lewis is an Octagon duel you don’t want to miss.

It’s all systems go this time around, as Blaydes and Lewis are just days away from touching gloves and putting up a bloody show in Sin City.

Before Blaydes and Lewis make their way into the Octagon, a women’s bantamweight bout between Ketlen Vieira and Yana Kunitskaya will be witnessed by MMA fans. Also on the main card are Charles Rosa vs. Darrick Minner (featherweight) and Aleksei Oleinik vs. Chris Daukaus(heavyweight).

Rounding out the main card are the middleweight bout between Phillip Hawes and Nassourdine Imavov and the Andrei Arlovski vs. Tom Aspinall heavyweight clash.

Get the important details of this bout, including an expert preview, a brief background for each fighter, and their UFC odds to win.

UFC Fight Night 185 Event Info

• When: Saturday, February 20, 2021
• Where: UFC Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada
• TV: ESPN
• Live Stream: UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night 185 Main Card Odds

Blaydes vs. Lewis Preview

Curtis Blaydes

• MMA Record: 14-2-0/10-2 (T)KO/0-0 Submission

The 29-year-old Curtis Blaydes will enter the Octagon this weekend riding the waves of an impressive four-fight unbeaten streak. Blaydes last saw action back last June, when he defeated Alexander Volkov via a 5-round unanimous decision victory. He has also scored knockout wins over Junio Dos Santos and Shamil Abdurakhimov during his current undefeated run.

Blaydes has only lost twice in his MMA career thus far, and both came at the hands of one man. That would be Francis Ngannou, who, as mentioned earlier, will challenge Miocic for the heavyweight belt in March.

It should be noted that Blaydes has landed more strikes than his opponents in each of his wins. Moreover, he’s recorded at least four takedowns in five of his last six victories.

Blaydes relies a lot on his wrestling skills, but he’s not going to shy away from exchanging blows standing up, as evidenced by his wins over Dos Santos and Abdurakhimov. So far in his MMA career, Blaydes has won 10 fights by knocking out his opponents.

Even though he’s already past the halfway mark of his 30s, Lewis has retained his power and that will be crucial for him in trying to stave off his opponent this Saturday.

Blaydes surely knows all about Lewis’ power and his game plan for this bout could be largely built around neutralizing The Black Beast’s striking.

Still, Blaydes is expected to try to bring the fight to the canvas, where he seems to have an advantage over Lewis. For one, Blaydes leads all active UFC heavyweight fighters in control time (1:13:28). That’s not to mention that he owns the best takedown accuracy of 55.7% in the heavyweight division today.

Derrick Lewis

• MMA Record: 124-7-0/19-4(T)KO/1-1 Submission

Derrick Lewis is having a nice streak himself. Nicknamed “The Black Beast,” Lewis is known for his striking and power that can put an end to any fight in an instant. Just ask Aleksei Oleinik about it, as he got knocked out in the second round of his fight against the 36-year-old Lewis last August.

Lewis landed 35 significant strikes in that fight, while only receiving two from Oleinik. He was merciless in pummeling Oleinik, with 34 of those strikes landing on the latter’s head.

o far in his career in the UFC, Lewis is averaging 2.53 significant strikes landed per minute, while absorbing 2.14.

Lewis has won 19 fights in his MMA career via knockouts, and only once has he scored a submission victory. You would have to go back all the way to 2010 to find the first (and only, so far) submission victory by Lewis.

In other words, it’s not hard to see what Lewis’ M.O. is, which is to knock his opponents out as quickly as possible. Among all active heavyweight fighters in the UFC, Lewis is No. 1, together with Andrei Arlovski, in finishes with 11.

Blaydes vs. Lewis MMA Betting Trends

• Curtis Blaydes is 8-1 in his last nine fights.
• Curtis Blaydes has scored a T(KO) win in two of his last three fights.
• Although known for his ability to finish fights before the final bell sounds, Derrick Lewis has gone the distance in two of his last three fights.
• Derrick Lewis once had a six-fight winning streak in the UFC from 2015 to 2017.

UFC Fight Night 185 Expert Betting Prediction