This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 56, we saw a battle between top heavyweight contenders. “Drago” Alexander Volkov (35-10) was looking to pick up a big win as he took on “Bigi Boy” Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-4).
Heading into the fight, Rozenstruik thought that Volkov would look to use wrestling. We’ve seen Rozenstruik struggle with his wrestling in his UFC career and Volkov has that skill in his back pocket. However, Volkov is also a very good striker.
Granted, he is not as decorated as Bigi Boy in that area. While Rozenstruik wasn’t expecting it, Volkov was aiming for a standup war. Both men were exchanging big shots in the first round and then out of no where, Rozenstruik was stunned.
Volkov pounced and started throwing big shots against the cage. Rozenstruik’s legs gave out and he turned away as he was falling to the ground. Referee Herb Dean jumped in to stop the fight and Rozenstruik suffered another set back in his UFC career.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 56?
Rozenstruik protested the stoppage and has said that he didn’t think it was a good stoppage. He wanted more time to recover, but after watching it a few times, I’m perfectly fine with the stoppage at UFC Vegas 56. Rozenstruik was completely out of it and he had a very powerful and dangerous Alexander Volkov on him.
With this latest loss, Rozenstruik is now just 2-4 in his last six UFC bouts. This comes on the heels of starting his professional career at a perfect clip of 10-0. Bigi Boy still has good skills and he’s a solid heavyweight, but he really needs to turn things around if he wants to be looked at as a serious contender in the heavyweight division.
So, with this latest loss, what should the UFC do with him next? I think he needs to fight another heavyweight that is in a similar spot. A guy that comes to mind is Chris Daukaus. Daukaus was unbeaten in the UFC and he was rising up the ranks quickly just like Rozenstruik.
However, he’s recently been knocked out in back-to-back fights and now there are questions regarding his career. It’s the perfect time to pair both of these guys to figure out exactly where they are.