A sneaky solid heavyweight fight goes down on the prelims of UFC 282. Top heavyweight contenders will battle it out as “Bigi Boy” Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-4) takes on the entertaining Chris Daukaus (12-5).
Daukaus is looking to snap a two-fight losing streak. Chris Daukaus was surging in the UFC’s heavyweight division. He started out 4-0 with four knockouts and the UFC gave him a main event against Derrick Lewis. Unfortunately, Daukaus was knocked out in that fight.
Then, he got another main event against Curtis Blaydes and once again got knocked out. That was back in March. He took some time to regroup and now he’s back ready to take on Rozenstruik to get back on track.
Back in 2020, Rozenstruik was 10-0 and he called for a fight with Francis Ngannou. He looked like a guy who could either challenge for the title or be a future UFC champion. He got knocked out by Ngannou in 20 seconds.
Starting with that fight, Rozenstruik is just 2-4 in his last six fights including back-to-back losses. He needs a bounce back win in the worst way tomorrow night.
UFC 282 Prediction
Given the skillsets of both men, I’m expecting a standup fight tomorrow night. Rozenstruik has some of the best striking in the division, but you wouldn’t guess it sometimes. He gets too conservative and doesn’t like to pull the trigger. He seems to have trouble fighting off his back foot.
When he’s aggressive and attacks, he’s sensational. However, when others attack him, he’s a shell of himself. This battle at UFC 282 is going to come down to who is leading the dance. If Daukaus is constantly pressing forward and throws crisp combinations, he can get Rozenstruik out of there.
However, if Rozenstruik is leading and uses all his tools, he can get the finish. I like the technique of Rozenstruik and if he uses his kicks, I think he can easily win this fight. I see a later stoppage in this one and I’m going to lean towards Bigi Boy to get the finish.
Prediction: Jairzinho Rozenstruik by TKO – Round 3