Jairzinho Rozenstruik faces Cyril Gane a little earlier than planned, but that’s not a problem for the knockout artist with an 11-1 record.
Rozenstruik was supposed to face Gane in March, but reshuffling cards seems to have become the new normal in MMA during the time of COVID. Originally, Dominick Reyes and former Rizin Light Heavyweight Champion Jiří Procházka were expected to serve as the main event for this event, but with an injury forcing Reyes from the card, taking the main event spot and fighting a little earlier was hard to pass up for Rozenstruik.
“It’s better to have your own card than to fight under somebody else’s card,” Rozenstruik said when speaking to MMA News’ James Lynch. “Five rounds is fine with me, it’s the main event so it feels good. Fighting two weeks earlier, two weeks later; it doesn’t matter. I mean I’m in the camp already, I’m already in a little bit of shape, so it wasn’t that hard. It was an easy decision to make.”
What Lies Ahead With a Win?
Rozenstruik is currently ranked number three in the UFC heavyweight rankings which is a pretty high ranking for someone that has 12 fights in MMA and only joined the UFC in 2019. Rozenstruik seems aware of this and addressed it when looking ahead into his future in the UFC.
“I’m going to need another fight,” Rozenstruik said. “I want to be busy, and learn from the best. There’s a lot of fighters that I passed. I just skipped the line because I win my fights. But I’m ready to face everyone.”
Rozenstruik and Gane headline UFC Vegas 20 on February 27 and it would be hard to argue against a title shot if he picks up a win.
What do you expect to see from Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 2021?
