Undefeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik has gone from relative unknown to heavyweight contender in the span of one year.
Suriname’s Rozenstruik (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) made his UFC debut on Feb. 2 in Fortaleza, Brazil, when he stepped in on short notice to take on Junior Albini. He won the bout via second-round TKO, kicking off his spectacular year.
Next up was Allen Crowder in June, where Rozenstruik scored the second-fastest knockout in heavyweight history, taking Crowder out in just nine seconds. As soon as the bell rang, Crowder ran into a jab that sat him down, and Rozenstruik followed up with a couple more punches, rendering his opponent unconscious. The knockout finish earned him the “Performance of the Night” bonus.
Then came his stiffest test to date, a matchup with former UFC heavyweight champion and veteran Andrei Arlovski at UFC 244, but Arlovski suffered the same fate most of Rozenstruik’s opponents have experienced. It was another quick finish for “Bigi Boy” at New York’s Madison Square Garden, this time, scoring a knockout in under 30 seconds.
Rozenstruik proved by this point he has some serious power, which contributed to his fast rise, and led to a big opportunity. He would step in once again on short notice, this time, to take on former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem at UFC on ESPN 7.
This time, it wasn’t another quick night for Rozenstruik. Instead, Rozenstruik found himself being taken down to the mat and controlled on a couple of occasions. Overeem was en route to taking the zero from Rozenstruik’s loss column, as well as stopping the hype, but the last 10 seconds proved to be fatal.
Rozenstruik made his way back up, and with seconds remaining, blasted an exhausted Overeem with a massive overhand right, splitting his lip in half. The comeback win was the third-latest stoppage in UFC history, and the second win Rozenstruik picks up in a 35-day stretch.
A new heavyweight contender was created, and he already had his next opponent in mind — fellow scary and hard-hitting heavyweight Francis Ngannou. Rozenstruik got his wish.
He will headline UFC Columbus on March 28, when he takes on Ngannou, his second main event in a row, in a bout with real title implications.
It was a memorable UFC debut year for Rozenstruik, who made the most of 2019, and may be one fight away from a shot at the belt now held by Stipe Miocic. Going 4-0 with four finishes, few newcomers made the kind of impact that Rozenstruik in 2019, putting Suriname on the MMA map and the heavyweight division on notice.
MMA Junkie's 2019 'Newcomer of the Year': Jairzinho Rozenstruik
