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Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruick will headline Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) return to Columbus, Ohio at an upcoming UFC Fight Night event on ESPN+ on March 28, 2020.
And “The Predator” will be going in as the -350 betting favorite, according to our friends over at BetOnline. Rozenstruick — who is undefeated at 10-0, 4-0 UFC — comes in as the +275 underdog.
Ngannou — who was last seen knocking out Junior dos Santos in the very first round this past June — has been on a tear as of late, winning his last three bouts via first round knockout. “The Predator” was growing frustrated with UFC seemingly stringing him along without giving him a fight before Jairzinho called him out.
As for Rozenstruick, he has won all four of his UFC fights via knockout, which includes wins over Junior Albini, Allen Crowder and Andrei Arlovski. In his last fight, “Bigi Boy” scored a come-from-behind knockout victory over Alistair Overeem, finishing “The Reem” with just one second left on the clock at UFC D.C.
Afterward, Rozenstruick took to the mic to call for a showdown against Ngannou, which was well-received by the hard-hitting big man. A few days later, the promotion announced its return to Columbus, with the hard-hitting Heavyweight affair as its headliner.
The winner here will make a clear case for the next shot at the 265-pound title, which will be on the line when division king, Stipe Miocic, faces Daniel Cormier a third time sometime in mid-2020.