Jairzinho Rozenstruik during his loss against Alexander Volkov
Jairzinho Rozenstruik releases statement following his TKO loss against Alexander Volkov at UFC Vegas 56
This weekend’s UFC Fight Night featured a heavyweight clash between top-ranked fighters Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Both fighters were coming off losses, and interestingly the fighters that defeated them, Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall will end up fighting each other at UFC London in July. The card absolutely delivered, with some fantastic performances, capped off by a controversial end to the main event.
The main event began with both fighters throwing kicks right off the back. Rozenstruik caught one of the straight kicks that Volkov attempted, and landed two uppercuts through the pipe. However, the Russian showed incredible resilience and will to stay in the fight, bouncing back with a straight left that staggered Rozenstruik. The mouthpiece went flying as Rozenstruik’s knees buckled, and the Russian poured on the volume of punches that led to Herb Dean intervening.
It was an early stoppage in many people’s opinion considering that Rozernstruik was still on his feet and trying to defend. Regardless it was a great victory for the veteran Russian who bounced back from a loss.
A visibly and understandably upset Rozenstruik reacted to the stoppage on Twitter questioning the nature of it, and also explaining what actually went down. In a series of two tweets he posted he said, ‘(1/2) Hi everyone. I’m kinda confused on how the fight went and I’m disappointed that it was stopped. It definitly was a troubling situation, but I was far from giving up the fight. Did someone lay flat on the ground with his eyes shut? That’s what we call a knockout. #UFCVegas56’
He added, ‘(2/2) Alexander and I basically just started exchanging some heavy strikes. The stuff you ‘all wanted to see! Big up to
@AlexDragoVolkov
for taking the fight. I’ve no noteable damage and I like to fight soon. #UFCVegas56′
Regardless of the outcome its good to see Rozenstruik healthy, fit and raring to go again. He will most likely have to build up his way up the ranks again, however a rematch with Volkov still seems viable if the UFC considers it sensible.
Following his spectacular win against Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury laid the stage for a future blockbuster clash against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Fury was at his best against Whyte, cutting angles of the ring, bobbing and weaving with ease, elusive footwork on point, parrying shots masterfully and ending the fight with a well-timed uppercut that put his opponent flat on his back.
To everyone’s surprise, Ngannou who was in attendance made an appearance in the ring following Fury’s victory, and the pair laid the foundation for a possible super-fight.
UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and the UFC top brass have been at loggerheads over a pay dispute, and terms in his contract. The Predator had even gone out on a limb claiming that he wants a move away from the UFC to boxing.
But since then, they have sat down on multiple occasions to chalk out a path forward, and Francis has openly stated that the prospect of a fight against Tyson Fury should be penned in his contract.
Speaking about the idea of the potential fight on The MMA Hour, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, a former opponent of Francis Ngannou said:
“Ah, yes and no. Boxing is different. Boxing is different. If you get tired, so what? When you get gassed out, that means you can’t do nothing. All your experience are gone. It’s like you’ll be in a punching bag. That’s what I believe it is when you gas out; that’s going to happen. It’s going to be a matter of time when you should go down.”
He added, “Yeah, I think so, boxing-wise. MMA is different. You can take him [Fury] down, wear him out on the ground, and then get him back up. All his arms are limp. He can’t punch. That’s different. But boxing-wise, it’s a different game.”
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