Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
The heavyweight assembly line is back in operation now that Stipe Miocic has rid the division of former titleholder Daniel Cormier, who retired in the wake of his UFC 252 loss last weekend (Aug. 15) inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Promotion president Dana White already anointed Francis Ngannou the next in line for a crack at the heavyweight crown — and for good reason — but there are plenty of hungry contenders lurking right around the corner.
Including Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
“When I stepped back in the Octagon I had in my mind what I wanted to do, how I want to be, and I was sure, I knew I’m going to knock someone out. In this case it was JDS, but it’s business,” Rozenstruik told MMA Junkie. “I’m developing, for sure. Francis is the next guy, so in the meanwhile I’m going to be right there, right around the corner, winning fights.”
Rozenstruik (11-1) has captured five of six since joining UFC back in early 2019. Unfortunately for “Bigi Boy,” that one loss came in devastating fashion against Ngannou — not that it seemed to bother him last weekend.
The Surinamese slugger blasted his way back into the win column by finishing Junior dos Santos on the UFC 252 main card in “Sin City” (recap here), the same card that saw Miocic outlast Cormier in the five-round main event.
Perhaps the next time Rozenstruik and Miocic share a fight card it will be against each other?