With UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic facing No. 1 ranked Francis Ngannou in March, and former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones reportedly in line to face the winner of that contest, it’s hard to tell what the stakes are between No. 2 ranked Curtis Blaydes and the No. 4 ranked Derrick Lewis. Still, the two men face off in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 19 fight card, for what would otherwise be top contender status.
Blaydes enters the contest on a four-fight winning streak. Most recently coming off a decision win over Alexander Volkov. During that contest, Blaydes attempted 25 takedowns.