This past Saturday on the main card of UFC 305, we saw a big time heavyweight matchup between two dangerous strikers. “Bigi Boy” Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15-5) was looking to win his second fight in a row while Tai Tuivasa (14-8) was looking to avoid a fifth straight loss.
While both men are really good strikers, I figured this fight would come down to where it took place. If this fight stayed at range, Rozenstruik was going to win. If this fight became a brawl, it favored Tuivasa. The first round saw Tuivasa be very patient and that allowed Rozenstruik to cruise to a win in the first.
The second round saw Tuivasa turns things up and he was starting to have a lot of success. However, later in the round he hurt his foot on a kick and Rozenstruik battered him in a few exchanges. That was enough to win the second round in my eyes.
In the third, Bigi Boy was just a little ahead of Tuivasa. Tuivasa had moments but Rozenstruik was much cleaner and never allowed him to really get going. I had all three rounds going to Rozenstruik in the end, but somehow the judges were split at UFC 305. One judge scored it 30-27 Rozenstruik, one had it 29-28 Rozenstruik, and a third judge scored it somehow 30-27 for Tuivasa. That judge was ultimately relieved of his duties for the rest of the evening.
What’s next after UFC 305?
With this win, Rozenstruik has now won two fights in a row and he’s jumped back into the top ten of the rankings. Now that he has some momentum again, who should the UFC target for his next matchup? Honestly, I think there’s two really good options for Bigi Boy.
The first matchup would be against fellow striker Sergei Pavlovich. Pavlovich has lost two in a row and really needs to bounce back. He’s ranked fourth in the division, but I could see them looking at a potential fight between these two. However, that wouldn’t be my first choice.
Derrick Lewis is fighting Alexandr Romanov when the UFC returns to Edmonton in a few months. Should The Black Beast win that fight, he would have won two fights in a row and will be ranked right behind or right in front of Rozenstruik. To me, there’s not a better fight in the division for either man.