UFC 252 free fight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik starches Junior Albini in promotional debut

Relive Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s finish of Junior Albini as “Bigi Boy” made a big impression on his UFC debut.

[autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] is not one to leave things in the hands of the judges.

Rozenstruik (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) made his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN+ 2 in February 2019 when he faced [autotag]Junior Albini[/autotag] in enemy territory.

Albini took the fight to the mat with an early takedown on the experienced kickboxer and was able to control Rozenstruik by advancing positions and attempting submissions, but Rozenstruik hung tough. Rozenstruik momentarily made his way back up, but was taken down once again.

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This time Albini took Rozenstruik’s back, but “Bigi Boy” defended well and eventually reversed position on the Brazilian before eventually bringing the fight back into his realm by getting back to his feet.

After Rozenstruik turned up the power in Round 2 and blasted Albini with a four-piece combination, finishing with a head kick, that sent Albini to the canvas for a spectacular win.

Rozenstruik went on to stop his next three opponents, including a comeback knockout of Alistair Overeem last December. But, in his last outing, Rozenstruik suffered his first career blemish in a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 249.

Rozenstruik returns on Aug. 15 when he meets former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC) at UFC 252, which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

Before he faces Dos Santos, relive Rozenstruik’s finish of Albini in the video above.

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UFC roster update: Ben Saunders, Brandon Davis among eight fighters released

The UFC is trimming its roster entering February, with eight fighters parting ways.

As the first quarter of 2020 progresses, the UFC has trimmed its roster. At least eight fighters have been released from their contracts or not re-signed, MMA Junkie has learned.

Each fighter listed has announced the release, or a member of his or her team has informed MMA Junkie of the news. The order in which they appear is alphabetical, not chronological.

The exact time frames and terms of the releases (i.e. end of contract vs. severance) were not disclosed to MMA Junkie.

Junior Albini.

Junior Albini | Heavyweight (14-6 MMA, 1-4 UFC)

Nicknamed “Baby,” [autotag]Junior Albini[/autotag] made quite the impression in his UFC debut in July 2016. Fresh off the Brazilian regional scene, Albini was an unknown to most North American viewers. In his promotional debut, it only took the big man 135 seconds to dismantle Timothy Johnson. His win in his UFC debut would be his last, however. Albini dropped four straight fights to Andrei Arlovski, Aleksei Oleinik, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Maurice Greene. He was subsequently cut from the promotion and has since signed with Serbian promotion SBC.

Nathan Coy | Welterweight (15-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC)

It took [autotag]Nathan Coy[/autotag] 24 professional fights and a stint on season 21 of The Ultimate Fighter to earn a crack at UFC notoriety. Debuting as a pro fighter in 2007, Coy’s road to the UFC wasn’t the quickest or easiest. He competed practically everywhere, from Strikeforce to Bellator to a plethora of regional promotions. After serving as one of the leaders of Team ATT on TUF 21, Coy made his UFC debut at the TUF 21 Finale. He lost to Danny Roberts that night. He picked up his elusive first UFC victory against Jonavin Webb in June 2016. Coy appeared once more in April 2017 and was submitted by Zak Cummings. After the loss, Coy walked away from MMA to pursue other endeavors – but he elected never to make a public announcement.

More roster updates on the next page: