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The former UFC heavyweight champion will take on the hard-hitting Surinamese striker at UFC 244.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik will get a significant step up in competition for his next fight.
Newsday’s Mark LaMonica reported on Wednesday that the unbeaten “Bigi Boy” will take on Andrei Arlovski at UFC 244 on November 2nd at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden. The night’s main card airs live on pay-per-view, with prelims on ESPN 2 and UFC Fight Pass.
Suriname’s Rozenstruik (8-0) has two fights under his belt inside the Octagon. He first knocked out Junior Albini early in the second round, then needed just nine seconds to wreck Allen Crowder at UFC Greenville in June. Seven of his wins are by KO, with six coming in the opening frame.
Arlovski (28-18, 2 NCs) snapped a four-fight winless run with a unanimous decision over Ben Rothwell at UFC San Antonio in July. The 40-year-old former UFC champion has gone the distance in his last eight bouts, and hasn’t been knocked out since a January 2017 defeat to the notoriously heavy-handed Francis Ngannou.
UFC 244 is expected to be headlined by welterweights Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, while former welterweight title challenger Darren Till’s middleweight bout vs. Kelvin Gastelum is slated to serve as the co-main event.