6 burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN 7
After a two-week break, the UFC is back in business. And the company returns to action with a slate of fights worth checking out.
A heavyweight matchup between the ageless Alistair Overeem and undefeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik headlines the final UFC on ESPN card of 2019. The main event is just one of a string of fights that might not have the star power of the month’s biggest event, UFC 245 with it’s three title fights Dec. 14, but nonetheless have meaningful consequences for the career trajectories of the participants and rankings implications for their respective weight classes.
UFC on ESPN 7 takes place Saturday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Without further ado, then, here are six burning questions as the road winds toward Saturday night in our nation’s capital.
Can Jairzinho Rozenstruik make the most of his big opportunity?
We suspect this isn’t the way the undefeated Surinamese kickboxer wanted to get his first UFC main-event opportunity. Rozenstruik (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC)
stepped up and accepted the bout with Overeem after Walt Harris had to drop out due to the disappearance of his stepdaughter, who was unfortunately found dead last week.
While everyone’s thoughts remain with the Harris family in its time of sorrow, the sport continues on, and Rozenstruik steps into his chance to make a statement that he’s truly arrived.
Rozenstruik has already demonstrated his veteran kickboxing skills have transferred over nicely from the ring to the cage, a point he’s hammered home each time out so far in the UFC octagon. Rozenstruik has won all three of his UFC fights via KO/TKO, with none of his fights lasting six minutes and his most recent triumph being a 29-second knockout of former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski in the intense spotlight of UFC 244.
That’s all well and good, but what happens if he fights someone with the ability to wait him out and drag him into deeper waters? Overeem (45-17 MMA, 10-6 UFC) has gotten clipped a few times, too, but he’s one of the game’s craftiest and adaptable fighters, a cerebral competitor who is not likely to be goaded into many mistakes. A victory over Arlovski is nice on a resume, but he’s a clearly diminished fighter. A win over Overeem, however, would be a statement Rozenstruik is ready for this, and ready to join the elite mix.
