for those not familiar jairzinho rosenstruikbackground and his fighting style when he made his UFC debut on February 2, 2019, against junior albini, It didn't take long to find out. After such an opening round, Rosenstruik viciously finished Albini with knees and strikes in less than a minute.
And if some missed, Rosenstruik followed that win with a first-round stoppage alan crowder in nine seconds (!) and defeated former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in 29 seconds and then with a dramatic last-second KO alistair overeem With just four seconds remaining in a fight, his defeat was certain.
After each of those fights, Rosenstruik returned home to a hero's welcome in Suriname. Thousands would turn out and chant his nickname, “Big Boy”, as he made his way home.
Now, nearly three and a half years after the win over Overeem, the crowds still come out whenever Rosenstruik returns home. He's perhaps a little thinner and a little less spirited these days than those heady days in 2019, when he went 4-0 with four knockouts in the world's top MMA promotion, but he's still there.
Faced Rosenstruik said, “There's still a lot of energy and it's still a big deal.” Zelton Almeida on Saturday in the main event of UFC Charlotte. “Fighting in the UFC is a big deal in this country. Everyone around the world knows UFC. And my country supports all of its athletes and it's always nice to come home and see people welcoming me.”
However, things are different now. After those four UFC wins raised his overall MMA record to 10-0 in 2019, he hit tough times. He hasn't won back-to-back fights since, and chris doukas This enabled him to snap a two-fight losing streak at UFC 282 in Las Vegas in December. He's 3-4 since his 4-0 UFC start, bringing him to 13-4 overall.
He's The +395 Underdog For Almeida At BetMGM, who is a magician on the ground, but has been showing better striking and power recently. Rozenstruik, however, is unimpressed and scoffs at the odds. Alameda is the -110 favorite to win by submission. Rozenstruik, in contrast, is +2500 to win by submission. While it is not realistic to think that Rosenstruik can submit Almeida, he is also a +500 underdog to win by knockout.
He said that long hurdles do not bother him as he feels that he has improved every time after a win or a loss.
“There's a lot to learn in this game,” he said. “And nobody ever learns it all.” But when you're at it for a while, you find that you pick up on things in each fight and you learn and grow so you can get better. The people who can grow, who take a talent and develop it, are the ones who stick around and win a lot of battles.
,[Almeida] Lots of talent. He's in the UFC. If you don't have a lot of talent, you can't get into the UFC because it's the big league. Where it is, it is for a reason. But I'm here too, and I'm here for a reason.”
Rozenstruik's best chance to win is clearly to keep the fight going and land a big shot. There are only a few fighters who can take a Rosenstruik shot to the chin and keep going. The key for Almeida is to avoid the big shots and get the fight where he can chase his advantage.
Rozenstruik is confident he can win and will not take anything for granted, even if the fight hits the ground for extended stretches.
“Look, my experience in this sport speaks for itself, and you can't underestimate the value of experience,” he said. “Wherever there is a fight, I will be ready. Just because he is [great at jiu-jitsu] That doesn't mean I can't win if the fight goes to the ground. The fighters in the UFC are well-rounded because you have to be. As a professional, you have to work on all aspects of the game and that is what I have done. so i feel good about myself [I head into this fight],