Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik do battle in a heavyweight bout on the main card at UFC 249 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The card kicks off Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+, with the main card on pay-per-view.
Ngannou (14-3-0) is looking to keep his impressive knockout streak alive against Rozenstruik (10-0-0), who has yet to taste defeat in his professional career. Ngannou, a.k.a. “The Predator,” has made quick work of his prey over the past three bouts, recording knockouts in the first round in each tilt. The fights haven’t been against slouches either, as he defeated Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos in order – not exactly cupcakes in the division. Ngannou has been on a mission since a title-shot defeat to Stipe Miocic in a unanimous decision loss in the main event of UFC 220 (Jan. 20, 2018), followed by another loss at the hands of the judges to Derrick Lewis at UFC 226 (July 7, 2018).
Rozenstruik, who hails from Suriname, presents a big challenge for the 33-year-old Ngannou. Rozenstruik throws a lot of punches, posting 3.72 significant strikes landed per minute to just 2.15 for Ngannou. He also has a 46.99 significant strike accuracy percentage to 37.70 for Ngannou. Neither of these fighters try to go to the mat, so you can avoid any thoughts of this one ending via submission. Since arriving at the UFC level, Rozenstruik has recorded four straight KO/TKO wins, including a Round 1 knockout of Andrei Arlovski at UFC 244 and a Round 5 KO/TKO against UFC veteran Alistair Overeem last time out on Dec. 7, 2019.
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Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik betting odds
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday, May 7 at 5 p.m. ET.
Ngannou (-278) is a heavy favorite, but if you were to bet the 2-way line, Rozenstruik (+225) is a much better value in this potential brawl.
Checking out method of victory, NGANNOU BY KO/TKO or DQ (-125) is a better bet than taking him on the 2-way line. This will be a toe-to-toe street fight, with both fighters throwing titanic blows. Ngannou doesn’t throw and land as many as Rozenstruik on average, but the ones he does land can rock his opponent in just one shot. It’s proven throughout his career.
While both of these fighters have ended things rather early in their recent fights, they might feel each other out early, looking to avoid the big blow from each other. As such, taking OVER 1.5 ROUNDS (-106) for the total number of rounds is worth a small-unit bet, too.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on Ngannou (-278) to win returns just a $3.60 profit. A $10 bet on Ngannou to win by KO/TKO or DQ (-125) earns a $8 profit, while a $10 play on the Over 1.5 rounds (-106) nets a return of $9.43.
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