The UFC is in the process of finalizing a big heavyweight matchup. First reported by La Sueur, the promotion is booking a heavyweight clash between undefeated prospect, Ciryl Gane (7-0), and Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-1).
The fight will take place at the UFC‘s Fight Night on March 13th. Just this morning, we learned that the headliner of that card will be the highly anticipated matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards.
Adding this heavyweight battle just shows that the UFC is stacking the deck again for another fight night. Entering this contest, both of these top contenders rank inside the UFC’s top seven at heavyweight.
They also both share a common last opponent. They both knocked out Junior Dos Santos in the second half of 2020 in their last performance. Prior to that win over JDS, Rozenstruik had suffered his first career loss at the hands of Francis Ngannou.
Rozenstruik met Ngannou at UFC 249. The winner of the fight was poised to be the top contender in the heavyweight division. Bibi Boy called out Ngannou and paid for it. Ngannou put Rozenstruik to sleep in 20 seconds.
However, Rozenstruik has had some real bright spots in the UFC outside of that loss. Of course, there is the victory over JDS, but he also owns knockouts over Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski, and Allen Crowder.
The UFC’s Top Heavyweight Prospect
Arguably the most intriguing heavyweight in the UFC entering 2021 is Ciryl Gane. Once a top training partner of Francis Ngannou, Gane has really started to blossom as a top heavyweight for the promotion.
Fighting JDS at UFC 256 was the first big test for Gane. He passed that test with flying colors. Gane certainly looks the part of a top heavyweight contender. If he’s able to get by Bigi Boy, he might only be a win away from a title shot.
The heavyweight division is in a fascinating spot. Jon Jones is preparing for his heavyweight debut while Ngannou is getting ready to fight Stipe Miocic for the title. Whoever wins between Gane and Rozenstruik will be squarely in the title picture after March 13th.