Opinions on
Jairzinho
Rozenstruik remain mixed ahead of his 10th assignment in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, ranging from gatekeeper to
contender and everything in between.
The
American Top Team export will attempt to rebound from his
latest setback when he toes the line against former
Bellator
MMA and
M-1 Global
champion
Alexander
Volkov in the
UFC Fight Night 207 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas. After a 10-0 start to his professional career, the
34-year-old Rozenstruik has alternated wins and losses in each of
his past five appearances. He last competed at UFC 266, where he
wound up on the wrong side of a three-round unanimous decision
against
Curtis
Blaydes on Sept. 25.
As Rozenstruik makes his way towards his confrontation with the
6-foot-7 Volkov, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped
chart his course:
Rozenstruik knocked out the former
Strikeforce,
Dream and
K-1 World Grand Prix champion with a sweeping right hook in the
fifth round of their UFC on ESPN 7 headliner on Dec. 7, 2019 at
Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. A late-notice substitution
for Will Harris, the Surinamese heavyweight brought it to a close
4:56 into Round 5. Overeem used a combination of guile and brawn to
build a substantial lead, controlling significant portions of the
first four-plus rounds with cautious but intelligent standup, a
stifling clinch, tactical takedowns and ground-and-pound.
Rozenstruik was seemingly headed for his first MMA defeat in the
waning seconds of the fifth period, but he followed a shovel
uppercut with a searing right hand. The impact split Overeem’s
upper lip and sat him down at the base of the cage. He jumped
immediately to his feet but stumbled across the cage in a dazed
state, leading referee Dan Miragliotta to call for the
stoppage.
No man can withstand the beastly Cameroon-born Frenchman at full
blast—a lesson Rozenstruik learned the hard way when he was felled
by punches in the first round of their UFC 249 heavyweight showcase
on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville,
Florida. Ngannou drew the curtain 20 seconds into Round 1. “The
Predator” fought fire with fire and answered the previously
unbeaten Rozenstruik’s blows with some of his own, wiping out his
counterpart with a sweeping left hook and follow-up shots. It was
Ngannou’s third sub-minute stoppage in four appearances and once
again made him the No. 1 contender for the heavyweight throne.
Rozenstruik bounced back from his 20-second knockout loss to
Ngannou when he brought down “Cigano” with punches in the second
round of their UFC 252 heavyweight feature on Aug. 15, 2020 at the
UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The end came 3:47 into Round 2. Dos Santos
probed for openings throughout a tepid first round, fired off
intermittent overhand rights and kept the dangerous Surinamese
kickboxer on his back foot. The middle stanza took on a similar
tone—until Rozenstruik connected. A two-punch combination floored
dos Santos at the base of the cage and set the stage for the
finish. Rozenstruik flurried with punches and dropped the Brazilian
a second time when he attempted to stand, forcing Miragliotta to
spring into action.
The impressive Frenchman climbed another rung on the heavyweight
ladder with a unanimous decision over Rozenstruik in the UFC Fight
Night 186 headliner on Feb. 27, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
All three cageside judges saw it the same: 50-45 for Gane.
Rozenstruik struggled to pull the trigger for five full rounds,
prompting one of his cornermen slapping the canvas in frustration
at one point in the middle of the fight. Perhaps the most
compelling exchange between the two heavyweight contenders took
place in the second round, where Gane tossed “Bigi Boy” off-balance
and briefly threatened with a standing rear-naked choke before
releasing his grip and retreating to the safety of open space. Gane
was otherwise content to play matador on the outside, and he did so
brilliantly. He switched stances throughout the 25-minute
encounter, piled up points with jabs from both hands and darted in
and out of danger, avoiding Rozenstruik’s notoriously heavy hands.