Heavyweights All The Rage For UFC Fight Night: Blaydes Vs. Lewis

The better buckle the Octagon up nice and tight Saturday night with four heavyweight bouts scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis.

In the main event, Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis square off in a scheduled five-round affair. The card takes place from Las Vegas and the UFC Apex, airing live on ESPN+.

Along with Blaydes vs. Lewis, Aleksei Oleinik meets Chris Daukaus, Andrei Arlovski battles Tom Aspinall and Sergey Spivak faces off with Jared Vanderaa.

Here’s a breakdown of each fight along with a prediction for who will have their hand raised at the end of it.

Sergey Spivak vs. Jared Vanderaa

It has been a mixed bag of results for Sergey Spivak inside the Octagon, going 2-2 with wins over Carlos Felipe and Tai Tuivasa. Outside of that, he has lost to Marcin Tybura and Walt Harris.

Needless to say, a win streak to begin 2021 would be a huge deal for Spivak.

Vanderaa earned his spot with a win over Harry Hunsucker on Dana White’s Contender Series. He is 5-1 over his last six around a loss to Renan Ferreira.

Prediction: Jared Vanderaa via TKO

Andrei Arlovski vs. Tom Aspinall

Could this be the final fight in the legendary career of Andrei Arlovski? The 42-year-old is always going to be asked that question each time he steps into the Octagon.

But Arlovski has continued to improve and keep himself young at heart, scoring wins in 2020 over Tanner Boser and Philipe Lins. 

Tom Aspinall is looking to make a name for himself by being the one to take the former UFC heavyweight champion out. He has won five in a row including a pair of victories over Alan Baudot and Jake Collier in the UFC last year.

Prediction: Andrei Arlovski via decision

Aleksei Oleinik vs. Chris Daukaus

Much like the aforementioned Andrei Arlovski, the career of Aleksei Oleinik is an incredible one. He is coming off a loss to Derrick Lewis, but won back-to-back fights prior to that including a split decision over Fabricio Werdum.

Since 2017, Oleinik has faced off against the likes of Werdum, Walt Harris, Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt, Curtis Blaydes and Travis Browne. It is also crazy to look at his resume and see the year 1996 for his debut.

Chris Daukaus brings a three-fight win streak to the bout including 2020 wins over Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira and Parker Porter. He has scored finishes in all three and won nine of his 10 fights by finish.

Prediction: Chris Daukaus via TKO

Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis

This could be one of the craziest and nastiest rounds of MMA action in 2021 depending on how both fighters want to go about it.

Curtis Blaydes has won four in a row highlighted by a finish of Junior dos Santos. He is 14-2 with 10 wins by knockout in his career. 

Ranked No. 2 in the division, Blaydes might play the more cautious role in this one. He doesn’t want to make a mistake against Derrick Lewis with so much on the line.

Since a pair of losses to dos Santos and Daniel Cormier, Lewis has topped Blagoy Ivanov, Ilir Latifi and Aleksei Oleinik. He is 24-7 with 19 of those wins by knockout and another via submission.

Prediction: Curtis Blaydes via submission