This past Saturday at UFC Vegas 20, we saw a battle of top ten heavyweights in the main event. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-2) was tasked in trying to derail the hype train of the undefeated, Ciryl Gane (8-0).
Rozenstruik is one of the most powerful strikers in all of the UFC. Bigi Boy has over 70 professional kickboxing victories and he’s stormed through all competition inside the octagon outside of Francis Ngannou.
Both of these contenders were coming off of victories against former heavyweight champion, Junior Dos Santos. The fight was being built up as a battle of finishers and many didn’t think this fight would go the distance.
However, there was a lack of action on Saturday night and ultimately many were disappointed with UFC Vegas 20‘s main event. The main issue with the main event was the lack of aggressiveness from Rozenstruik.
Gane had a good game plan and was racking up points on the outside. While nothing had a ton of steam on it, Gane was popping Rozenstruik with jabs and kicks all night. Rozenstruik appeared to be waiting for one big knockout shot, however, there was no urgency.
Heading into the fifth round, Rozenstruik needed a finish to win. He had lost all four rounds on all three scorecards. When the final round started, there was still no urgency from Rozenstruik and Gane walked to a decision win. Bigi Boy is now 1-2 in his last three in the UFC.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 20?
While Rozenstruik didn’t get finished at UFC Vegas 20, his stock took a major hit. Rozenstruik appeared to be fighting with a similar strategy that Derrick Lewis fought Curtis Blaydes with, however, he wasn’t throwing when he had openings.
Instead, he seemed content with staying on the outside while he was getting outpointed by Gane. So what does the UFC do with Bigi Boy after this performance? Well, I think there are a couple of options for Rozenstruik.
A matchup I actually like is the rematch with Alistair Overeem (47-19,1 NC). The two men fought in late 2019 and Overeem was winning the entire fight. However, in the last ten seconds, Rozenstruik landed a bomb that gave him the knockout victory.
I believe a lot of people would want to see the rematch. I think another fun matchup could be Rozenstruik against Walt Harris (13-9, 1 NC). The Big Ticket has lost a couple in a row, but he always brings the fight to his opponent. I believe either of these matchups would be a fun next step for Jairzinho Rozenstruik.