Last time out, [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] suffered his first career loss in horrifying fashion, getting knocked cold by Francis Ngannou in just 20 seconds.
On Saturday, “Bigi Boy” responded in the best way possible: by getting right back into the game and scoring a big finish of his own.
Rozenstruik (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) earned a gigantic victory on the main card of UFC 252 with a second-round TKO of former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag]. The time of the stoppage was 3:47.
“I feel great. I wanted to fight as soon as possible as soon after I lost,” Rozenstruik said in his post-fight interview. “I went back to the gym right away. I needed to get the win to get it straight.”
BIGI BOY IS BACK! 😳 #UFC252 pic.twitter.com/h8SlayhrGF
— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2020
It was clear from the outset that the bout between American Top Team teammates was one that featured two competitors who respected one another’s power as neither fighter overcommitted. That said, Dos Santos (21-8 MMA, 15-7 UFC) was the more active of the two from the outset, as he mixed kicks high and low with overhand shots that found a home throughout the opening round.
Rozenstruik, for his part, seemed content to land single shots, usually straight hands that hit clean on the button.
But one also got the sense the Suriname native was biding his time and waiting for his big opening, and that came late in the second round. Rozentstruik landed a left hand to the jaw and followed with a huge right, which dropped Dos Santos to the mat. JDS attempted to get back to his fight through Rozenstruik’s onslaught of follow-ups, only to eat another big one when he was almost back up and crumpled to the mat. The bout was waved off seconds later.
The victory was Rozenstruik’s 10th KO/TKO finish in his 11 professional wins. Dos Santos now has dropped three straight bouts, all via finish inside two rounds.
The heavyweight bout was part of the UFC 252 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Junior Dos Santos via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 3:47
- Daniel Pineda def. Herbert Burns via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 4:37
- Merab Dvalishvili def. John Dodson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Vinc Pichel def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Virna Jandiroba def. Felice Herrig via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:44
- Danny Chavez def. TJ Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Livinha Souza def. Ashley Yoder via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Chris Daukaus def. Parker Porter via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:28
- Kai Kamaka III def. Tony Kelley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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