It appears a heavyweight clash between Junior dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik is being targeted for UFC 252.
Combate reports that dos Santos vs. Rozenstruik is close to being a lock for Aug. 15. UFC 252’s headliner is set to be a trilogy bout between heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. A venue hasn’t been revealed but the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada is likely.
In his last outing, dos Santos suffered a second-round TKO to Curtis Blaydes. “Cigano” had been coming off a first-round TKO loss to Francis Ngannou. In his pro MMA career, dos Santos has never lost three straight bouts.
Rozenstruik had a perfect record of 10-0 before running into Ngannou. “Bigi Boy” was knocked out in just 20 seconds by “The Predator.” If Rozenstruik does indeed fight dos Santos, it’ll be a big opportunity to rebound against a former UFC heavyweight champion.
In the UFC heavyweight rankings, dos Santos and Rozenstruik aren’t far apart. In fact, dos Santos holds the number five spot, while Rozenstruik sits at number six.
The heavyweight division has some pivotal fights lined up. Curtis Blaydes is set to do battle against Alexander Volkov on June 20. There’s the aforementioned heavyweight title bout between Miocic and Cormier. And of course, dos Santos vs. Rozenstruik. On top of that, Alistair Overeem is coming off a TKO win over Walt Harris back in May.
MMA News will be bringing you the latest updates on the UFC 252 card. Stick with us as the event continues to take shape.
