UFC Vegas 56: Rozenstruik vs Volkov – Take a look at the results and also the ones who received the bonus
This weekend’s UFC Fight Night featured a heavyweight clash between top-ranked fighters Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
The Russian Volkov, a veteran of the sport has had a staggering 43 fights in MMA, and 11 fights inside the UFC octagon. The former M-1 and Bellator heavyweight champion has a record of 34-9, with notable wins against Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum. His last fight against Tom Aspinall at UFC London in enemy territory, which he lost by submission.
His opponent Jairzinho Rozenstruik is a Surinamese mixed martial artist and former kickboxer who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He currently holds the record for the second-fastest knockout in the heavyweight division against Allen Crowder at the UFC Fight Night 154. In kickboxing, he is a former WLF Super Heavyweight Tournament Champion and a Superkombat World Grand Prix I 2013 Runner-Up. As of March 21, 2022, he is #8 in the UFC heavyweight rankings. He lost his last fight against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 266 via decision.
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.
In the co-main event, Movser Evloev and Dan Ige came to fight, and wanted to knockout their opponent while every trade was driven by that purpose. There wasn’t much of a feel-out process and both guys connected with some hard blows. During one of these exchanges, Evloev landed a counter flying knee that stunned Ige, but amazingly the Hawaiian stayed upright. Evloev scored a takedown and then took him down again after Ige grabbed the fence. Movsar was the one who disengaged from the groundwork and they resumed striking for the rest of round one, with Evloev making the early statement.
Second round continued with Ige searching for big power shots while Evloev worked on the counter, and he got in another flying knee that landed more on the chest than the head. The Hawaiian landed a couple of low kicks and did get in a right hand, but Evloev’s constant battering and peppering started to show on Ige’s face. Just as Ige was gaining some momentum in Round 2, Evloev took Ige to the mat with a clever level change. He landed a slicing elbow that diced Ige open and the blood bothered him.
In the third round Evloev’s pace wore Ige down and the brutality and tenacity of his wrestling was just too much to keep up with for Ige. Try as Ige might to scramble or throw up a submission or get to his feet, it was a round dominated by Evloev’s ground control, mixed in with some effective strikes to prevent a stand-up. By the time Ige did stand back up there was only 30 seconds left in the fight and, you better believe it, he got taken down one more time. Evloev remains unbeaten in his career and the former M-1 champ will likely be ranked in the top-10 after defeating #10 ranked Ige.
Alexander Volkov def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via TKO (punches) at 2:12 of Round 1
Movsar Evloev def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Lucas Almeida def. Michael Trizano via TKO (punches) at 0:55 of Round 3
Karine Silva def. Poliana Botelho via submission (d’arce choke) at 4:55 of Round 1
Ode Osbourne def. Zarrukh Adashev via KO (punches) at 1:01 of Round 1
Alonzo Menifield def. Askar Mozharov via TKO (elbows) at 4:40 of Round 1
Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Felice Herrig via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:01 of Round 2
Joe Solecki def. Alex da Silva via unanimous decision (28-28, 28-27, 29-27)
Damon Jackson def. Daniel Argueta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Benoit Saint Denis def. Niklas Stolze via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:32 of Round 2
Tony Gravely def. Johnny Munoz via KO (punches) at 1:08 of Round 1
Jeff Molina def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Andreas Michailidis via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Erin Blanchfield def. JJ Aldrich via submission (standing guillotine) at 2:38 of Round 2
These are the fighters who cashed in the extra $50,000 bonus for their brilliant performances at UFC Vegas 56.
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