Tomorrow night, two top ten heavyweights will battle it out in the UFC Vegas 28 main event. Sixth ranked Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-2) takes on Augusto Sakai (15-2-1) as both men look to bounce back.
A lot has changed for Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the last 13 months. 13 months ago, Rozenstruik was booked against Francis Ngannou at UFC 249. Bigi Boy was undefeated and he looked like he was knocking on the door of a UFC title shot.
However, Francis Ngannou knocked him out in 20 seconds which ended that dream. After than, Rozenstruik bounced back with a knockout win over Junior Dos Santos before being booked in a headliner against Ciryl Gane back in February.
Rozenstruik put on one of the worst performances imaginable in getting shut out in the UFC main event. There was no urgency from the heavyweight striker and he proceeded to get outpointed for five rounds. Tomorrow night he’s look to bounce back and redeem himself a bit.
Standing across from him is Augusto Sakai. Sakai last fought in September when he was stopped by Alistair Overeem. That loss snapped a six-fight winning streak including Sakai going 4-0 to start his UFC career. Sakai will look to avoid back-to-back losses tomorrow night.
UFC Vegas 28 Prediction
When it comes to the UFC Vegas 28 main event, I have to say I’m a bit torn on my thoughts. On one hand, I love the pure striking ability of Jairzinho Rozenstruik. When it comes to pure technique and striking experience, he’s almost unmatched at heavyweight.
However, I really love the urgency that Sakai fights with. Sakai has decent technique, but he puts on a great pace for a heavyweight and he will likely be the busier fighter tomorrow night. If this fight goes the distance, I really think Sakai might be the favorite on activity alone.
However, I’m not willing to give up on Rozenstruik just yet. I think his loss to Ngannou at UFC 249 really messed with him. We’ve seen him incredibly tentative since, but I think tomorrow we will see a sharp and motivated Rozenstruik. While Sakai will have his moments, I think Bigi Boy will find a shot in the middle rounds that gives him the win.
Prediction: Jairzinho Rozenstruik by TKO – Round 3