No one was happy with the main event fight between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane, including Rozenstruik himself.
If you were tuned into UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Rozenstruik on Saturday for the heavyweight showdown between two of the biggest, baddest men in the organization, we imagine you were left wondering what we were after: What the hell was that?
We’d call it the biggest non-fight since Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis stared at each other for 15 minutes back in 2018 at UFC 226. But to be fair, Ciryl Gane did spend his time pretty wisely during the bout, peppering Rozenstruik with kicks and jabs and staying safely on the outside where he could easily escape Rozenstruik’s rare blitzes.
It really was Jairzinho Rozenstruik who seemed largely frozen, and the scorecards reflected that with 50-45 scores for Ciryl Gane from all three judges. So what happened? We imagine we’ll hear more down the line but here’s a statement from the Bigi Boy himself posted onto social media in the hours after the fight.
A first statement. #UFCVegas20 pic.twitter.com/Mxkwto662n
— Jairzinho ‘BIGI BOY’ Rozenstruik (@JairRozenstruik) February 28, 2021
“Uuuh, fans, family, and friends … I just fought, and the fight didn’t go my way,” Rozenstruik said. “I think it’s my worst performance ever if you ask me. I’m hard on myself. So this is me explaining myself, I think I owe you guys this. I’m going to go back home and work my ass off for my next fight. Don’t know when it’s going to be … Respect to Ciryl, he won the fight and he’s a phenomenal fighter. That is what I can say.”
Respect to @Ciryl_Gane. As said, you are a phenomenal fighter. #UFCVegas20 pic.twitter.com/jQRz8JWbR9
— Jairzinho ‘BIGI BOY’ Rozenstruik (@JairRozenstruik) February 28, 2021
The loss is Rozenstruik’s second of his career, dropping him to 11-2. The win elevates Ciryl Gane to 8-0, but we doubt there’ll be much talk of it putting him in the pole position for a title shot. Now let us never speak of this fight again.